Winter meetings, day 4
Here’s Ruben Amaro a few minutes ago on the rumors that talks for Roy Halladay are intensifying between the Phillies and Blue Jays: “I don’t think there is any likeliness (of a big trade happening)…there is nothing likely. How about that?” It was creative use of the world “likely.” Of course, no trade is “likely,” until just before it happens; there are too many variables and moving parts. But the Phillies are certainly more “likely” than about 27 other teams to acquire the ace. As we’ve said all along, several factors would have to break the right way for Halladay to become a Phillie: The Yankees and Red Sox would have to bail, because if those two behemoths duked it out for Doc, they’d probably try to outdo one another with trade packages that eclipse what the Phils would want to present. The Yankees lost a few trade chips when they acquired Curtis Granderson last week, but still have the talent to get a deal done, if they are motivated (it should be noted that Yanks' GM Brian Cashman is fiercely protective of his prospects, and would find it difficult to continue trading them this winter). If the Yanks and Sox do not remain serious players for Halladay, he would probably fall to the Phillies and Angels. According to the Toronto Sun, L.A. yesterday offered pitcher Joe Saunders, shortstop Erik Aybar, and outfielder Peter Bourjos for Halladay. That’s a good offer, and a comparable one from the Phillies, talent-wise, would have to include J.A. Happ and Michael Taylor (Cole Hamels will not be traded). There have been rumors that Halladay wouldn’t go to the Angels because they train in Arizona and the Doc lives in Florida, but it is important to note that he has never actually said that, at least publicly. Here is what we know: The Phillies and Halladay have long expressed a mutual interest. The Phils have the talent to get a deal done, though they would have to increase payroll to add Halladay—something they have said they do not want to do. Other than the report of the Angels' offer, nothing has changed about this storyline in the past several days. *** With the 26th pick in this morning’s Rule 5 draft, the Phillies selected RHP Kenneth Herndon from the Angels. Herndon, 24, is a 6 foot 5 reliever who throws a power sinker and slider. In the minor league portion of the draft, the Phils pitched RHP Angelo Sanchez, 20, from Minnesota. “We really like the sinker he has,” pro scouting director Mike Ondo said of Herndon. “We have seen him for three or four years now.” Pitching for Double-A Arkansas last season, Herndon went 5-6, with 11 saves and a 3.03 earned run average in 50 games. This winter, he pitched for Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League, going 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 16 appearances A quick refresher on the Rule 5: Once selected, a player must remain on his new team’s 25-man roster for the entire next season—or the new team risks losing him to the old team again. Last year’s Rule 5-er was Bobby Mosebach, also an Angels reliever, who was returned to L.A. at the end of spring training. Shane Victorino was a notable recent Rule 5 choice who later found success. The Mets selected righthanded pitcher Carlos Montasario from Lehigh Valley. Montasario came over in 2006 as part of the Bobby Abreu trade.
Winter meetings, day 4
Andy Martino
Here’s Ruben Amaro a few minutes ago on the rumors that talks for Roy Halladay are intensifying between the Phillies and Blue Jays: “I don’t think there is any likeliness (of a big trade happening)…there is nothing likely. How about that?”
It was creative use of the world “likely.” Of course, no trade is “likely,” until just before it happens; there are too many variables and moving parts. But the Phillies are certainly more “likely” than about 27 other teams to acquire the ace.
As we’ve said all along, several factors would have to break the right way for Halladay to become a Phillie: The Yankees and Red Sox would have to bail, because if those two behemoths duked it out for Doc, they’d probably try to outdo one another with trade packages that eclipse what the Phils would want to present. The Yankees lost a few trade chips when they acquired Curtis Granderson last week, but still have the talent to get a deal done, if they are motivated (it should be noted that Yanks' GM Brian Cashman is fiercely protective of his prospects, and would find it difficult to continue trading them this winter).
If the Yanks and Sox do not remain serious players for Halladay, he would probably fall to the Phillies and Angels. According to the Toronto Sun, L.A. yesterday offered pitcher Joe Saunders, shortstop Erik Aybar, and outfielder Peter Bourjos for Halladay. That’s a good offer, and a comparable one from the Phillies, talent-wise, would have to include J.A. Happ and Michael Taylor (Cole Hamels will not be traded). There have been rumors that Halladay wouldn’t go to the Angels because they train in Arizona and the Doc lives in Florida, but it is important to note that he has never actually said that, at least publicly.
Here is what we know: The Phillies and Halladay have long expressed a mutual interest. The Phils have the talent to get a deal done, though they would have to increase payroll to add Halladay—something they have said they do not want to do. Other than the report of the Angels' offer, nothing has changed about this storyline in the past several days.
***
With the 26th pick in this morning’s Rule 5 draft, the Phillies selected RHP Kenneth Herndon from the Angels. Herndon, 24, is a 6 foot 5 reliever who throws a power sinker and slider. In the minor league portion of the draft, the Phils pitched RHP Angelo Sanchez, 20, from Minnesota.
“We really like the sinker he has,” pro scouting director Mike Ondo said of Herndon. “We have seen him for three or four years now.”
Pitching for Double-A Arkansas last season, Herndon went 5-6, with 11 saves and a 3.03 earned run average in 50 games. This winter, he pitched for Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League, going 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 16 appearances
A quick refresher on the Rule 5: Once selected, a player must remain on his new team’s 25-man roster for the entire next season—or the new team risks losing him to the old team again. Last year’s Rule 5-er was Bobby Mosebach, also an Angels reliever, who was returned to L.A. at the end of spring training. Shane Victorino was a notable recent Rule 5 choice who later found success.
The Mets selected righthanded pitcher Carlos Montasario from Lehigh Valley. Montasario came over in 2006 as part of the Bobby Abreu trade.
***
Reliever Brandon Lyon signed with Houston last night for a reported three years, $15 million. The righthander was a prime Phillies' target to improve the bullpen, but a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations said that talks between the sides never gained any momentum at all. Amaro had a different take today, saying, "We were in pretty deep."
Comments (63)
I don't care what Ruben has to give up to get Halliday. The future is NOW for the Phillies.— Bobphxville- Trade Hammels, one of the minor league OF's and more!— skins
- If you read 4 different internet sites, you get 4 different favorites to acquire Roy Halladay. The one constant in each of these sites is the mention of the Phillies as still competing in the Halladay sweepstakes. Disconcerting is the mention of the names of J.A. Happ and Cole Hamels as possible trade bait. Including Happ, who was one the Phils' most consistent and effective pitchers last year, in a trade for Halladay would be irresponsible. Including Hamels, who is a much better pitcher than the guy who showed up in 2009, would be impulsive. Happ and Hamels are the future of the Phils pitching staff. Happ was the Sporting News Rookie of the Year in 2009. Hamels was the World Series MVP in 2008. These guys have already proven that they have what it takes to win championships. Happ and Hamels have the potential to become two of the most dominant pitchers in the game. Trading two stars with proven ability and enormous potential for what might amount to a single roll of the dice with Halladay would be short-sighted. The financial considerations alone would make such a trade prohibitive. Happ and Hamels have the potential to win every time they take the mound. Halladay may give up less runs per game, but when the dust finally settles, a win is a win. A Halladay win doesn't count for any more than a Happ or Hamels win. Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick are two decent pitchers who are expendable. Happ and Hamels are not. What's more, The Phils' minor league system is overflowing with the kind of talent most other organizations covet. Most of this talent is also expendable. It would be nice to have Roy Halladay in a Phillie uniform, if only for a year, but not at the expense of integral parts of the next decade of Phillie baseball. One internet site is reporting that Halladay wants to pitch for the Phils because his Florida home is close to Clearwater. It might be neighborly for the Phils to grant Halladay his wish, but not at an expense the Phils can't afford.
- skins- why would you trade Hammels, becauase of his 1 bad year? That's crazy to trade a guy who 2 years was the World Series MVP. They will never do that, now I think they should trade Happ if a starting pitcher is part of the deal. Happ was good, but Halladay is great and only a few years older. Least we forget Hallady pitches in the American league east against 2 of the biggest offensive teams in baseball and has won a CY Young, that's a big upside over Happ who could be a 1 year wonder.— bobf876
- onthebucks, good post I agree. Yet at the same time everything Ruben has not said this week screams that the Phils are after Halladay. If the Yanks and Sox are out then a Blanton, Taylor and maybe Gose deal would probably get it done for both sides. That said, I can't see the Phils doing anything without a new contract for Doc as part of the deal. Why trade away a big chunk of the future for 1 year when they can probably only offer a deal to either Lee or Doc but not both? No matter what happens they will not have Lee and Doc in 2011. So I say make sure you have 1 of them and whoever you can get to sign a 3 year deal is your man.— sla6yer
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- Phils won't trade Hamels for Halladay for 2 reasons. 1) Hamels is a 25 year old pitcher who still has a ton of potential for a 32 year old pitcher with only a few more years left. Halladay may be a better pitcher now, but Hamels has a whole lot more baseball in him than Halladay. Plus, Hamels was World Series MVP, he's not a throw away. 2) Toronto wants prospects or players who do not have big contracts yet. They're trying to save money, not bring in someone with a lot of salary.— awl
- Andy - so Herndon has the make the team and stay on it to stay in the organization. What about Sanchez? You differentiated him saying he was from the minor league portion of the draft -- does that have different rules?— dawk2020
- Ruben Amaro - “I don’t think there is any likeliness (of a big trade happening)" MVKrum - "Then I don't think there is any likeliness of another World Series title with this group."— MVKrum
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- OK, so they dont want to increase payroll. With Lee & Halladay having 1 year left on their contracts why not have them both then decide who you want to extend and who hits the FA market after 2010?? I think the fans deserve 1 year with an inflated payroll (excess $140M). Who's with me?— R Mexico
- While I agree with onthebucks reasoning that basically seems to state that you don't mortgage the future for just one year of a good thing, I can't say that Happ and Hamels are the future for the next decade. Hamels, maybe, because he's show us his brilliance before, and everyone from casual viewers to MLB scouts and GMs know he has the stuff. With Happ, you'll probably run into a wider variety of opinions. Sure, he performed well this year, but will he surely continue that success in the years to come when hitters become more used to him. I'm sure he'll make adjustments, but is the pure stuff there, like it is with Hamels? As we all know, pitchers are a mercurial breed, and in my opinion, if you can trade an unproven for one that has proven over many years to be a true ace, I'd do it, especially since the whole "winning now" thing does pertain to our Phils. So, I wouldn't be too heartbroken to see Happ go, do not touch Hamels! I would actually be more sorry to see Michael Taylor go, do not touch Domonic Brown!— y71s73
- Sounds like the Phils are holding out on Brown. Let him go. I love him (and all of these kids) but... Happ, Brown, D'Arnaud/Gose and Cosart/May. If they wanted Hamels instead of Happ, Id do it and draw back one of either Darnaud/Gose or Cosart/May. But you gotta sign Roy long term. 5 years 20 per.— shova
- the phils are quite content with the eagles-like philosophy which is, "bring in just enough talent to stay comptetive for an extended period and the masses will still eat from your hands." i want hallday too, but it isnt going to happen because the phils dont want to break this "budget." meanwhile, the word budget is not in the vocabulary of the yanks and red sox and they have won 3 out of the last 6 world series titles. so, stick to your "budget" ruben and we can become like the braves of the 90's, ya know....umpteen playoff appearances in a row but only 1 title to show for it!— theeducator
- SAY IT AIN'T SO..... Reuben....We loot the Series due to our pitching problems....WE have a 2 to 3 year window with the best lineup in baseball.....Just get it done....Keep Lee, Hamels, Happ, Madeson and Lidge...Everybody else is tradeable on jsut cut.....free up the cash...THE TIME IS NOW...Just get it done....— nuggett
- Toronto won't take Blanton - he's only about half as expensive as Halladay and he's up for free agency next year. They might take Hamels, though he's going to get super expensive in a short amount of time also, and Amaro's not going to deal him unless he thinks he can sign Halladay and Lee beyond this season. The payroll space just isn't there. As for Happ, nothing we saw this past season makes me think that he has the potential to be a "dominant pitcher", as onthebucks said. He might be a 3, he could be a 4. So for one year, where that one year could win you another ring, Halladay may be worth Happ, plus Brown or Taylor, and someone like Flande or Savery, or someone else who projects as a big leaguer but not a star. I guess Toronto likes Brown better than Taylor, though I personally get the impression that Taylor's going to be really good also, from the little I've seen and read about him.— B in DC
- The strengths of a team's pitching is not necessarily the ability of ONE pitcher, but the entire pitching ROTATION. Right now we need to worry about bettering the rotation as a whole, not just 1 player. Would our rotation benefit with Halladay? Absolutely. But right now we have a good rotation with Lee, Hamels, Happ and Blanton. We don't need to give away a ton of our prospects for another ace. Just like we got Lee for "cheaper" and improved our rotation, Amaro needs to do the same again. If we can get Halladay without giving up much, great. Otherwise, I'd go for a good #4 or #5 starter and keep our prospects. Anyone saying that we should throw away our prospects for a proven 32 year old, doesn't make sense. Remember, Howard, Utley, Rollins and Hamels were all once prospects that (thankfully) Wade didn't trade away. It says something that the Phils' farm team was ranked #4. Not all prospects are considered equal. You can't just throw them away for a player that would only play for 1 year. I'd rather have Lee longterm than Hallady, if we had both here and had to choose after next year.— awl
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His name is Hamels, not Hammels!! It's really hard to take your opinions seriously when you can't even get the guys name right. Cole is the future of this organization, anyone with half a brain knows this. It's something the pseudo fans can't wrap their heads around. Real fans understand this. Halladay is not the untouchable pitching God the morons on this forum are making him out to be, in fact he got rocked in the second half last season. Happ, Hamels, and Taylor or Brown? The people who think this is a smart move were the same people standing in line for a Vick Jersey 4 months ago. Thanks for making Philly fans look like idiots yet again!— mikestef100- Comment removed.
- The window of opportunity for the Phils to win another World Series is now! As more guys like Werth, Howard, and Lee get closer to new contracts, the ability to retain them all becomes slim. I'm ok with giving up a prospects to get a proven #1 caliber pitcher, who has successfully pitched against the best players in the American league. Prospects may never turn out to be what you hoped for....remember Marlon Byrd? Wasn't he supposed to be an all-star for this organization? Ruben get it done, so we can dust the shelf for our next World Series trophy.— jimmy610
- I think we get it... Enough of the Halliday stories already. How about a story later about how it's not likely to land A-Roid or Lincecum. Maybe even an article about how it's not probably to be yesterday tomorrow— reidbetweenthelines
- sorry onthebucks, you're off on this one. many flawed points in your thinking. you really over estimate the value of happ and hamels. yes, happ had a fantastic rookie year and yes, hamels had a brilliant 2008 and both have a CHANCE to be consistently dominant, but I think few would argue that Halladay IS the most dominant pitcher in the game today. You know what you are going to get with Halladay and it is most likely a WIN. He is the closest to a sure thing out there. Hamels and Happ are young and the Phillies would have salary security with Happ but if your goal is to win another championship then Halladay is the answer. You can't get something for nothing. Shuffle some salary, make some trades, give up some prospects... do what it takes to win.— BroadStreet
- I don't understand why five or six straight years of record attendance--the last with virtually straight sellouts, 73 of 81--back to back pennants, and a championship don't allow the Phillies to play in essentially any budgetary ballpark they want to--what's that money for, any how, if not to improve the team? Why is $140MM the cap? Where's the rest of it going?— rbbloom
- I would trade Happ. Would not trade Hamels. I've seen so many guys come in and do well for one year like Happ. He does not have great stuff. He is just ok....the 4th pitcher in your rotation. He will not win you a World Series now or in the future. Halladay could put the Phils in a great position to win in 2010.— philvill
- yeah, cause $140 million isn't an inflated payroll. Prospects are prospects - you do not know for sure if they are going to pan out. The window has about 2 years left to win the World Series. GO FOR IT!!— seaonasdad
- Listen to hamburger! Ruben, he makes a lot of sense. I tried to say this to Phillies fans on a message board somewhere else and I was lambasted and told to calm down. This is fire we're dealing with folks. 4 years from now you won't be able to recognize this team, who cares about the prospects. Chances are they won't win us a title either if the FO is worried about pinching pennies while the stadium is packed every night.— MVKrum
- Unlike bobphxville and many other posters over the last few weeks, I don't want to see the Phillies bankrupt the farm system for just one year of Halladay. We've got some great prospects coming up, and I'm looking forward to watching them play over the years. Yes, with Halladay, we'd have a great shot at another playoff run (but remember everyone, the playoffs are a crapshoot). But we have a good shot at that as is, and I'd rather not see 2012-2016 be lost years because our cupboard of prospects are bare. I plan to keep following the Phillies after 2010, so I'd rather not risk it all on one roll of the die like some people inexplicably want them to do.— amc312
- If either Hamels or Happ go, then the Phillies are still one pitcher short for the regular season, but what a top of the rotation with Halladay and Lee! The in the playoffs your number five starter can get lost. A rotation of Halladay, Lee, Happ or Hamels, Blanton, and someone to hold down the fifth spot until Kyle Drabek is ready sounds OK to me. On another track, I have no problem with Smoltz as a short reliever. His days as a starter are over, but he can still bring it for an inning.— Carmine
- get rid of of Hamels ?!? Are you people mad?? Guy has one off season and you throw him under the bus, He wil bounce back this coming season you wait and see.— Will.i.Am
- Hamels, Hamels, his name is Hamels— Captain
- There's a report on Foxspors.com there's a deal on the table--Happ, either Brown or Taylor, and a lower level prospect for Halladay. The Phils are also looking at bringing in Jason Marquis to compete as a 5th starter. Now, the only way they trade Blanton is if they can get some decent relief pitching in return. I agree with R Mexico--the fans deserve at least 1 year of an inflated payroll. Getting Halladay doesn't guarantee the team a spot in the WS--however, if they did get him and they didn't make it, no one could say they didn't try.— bobbyuk
- onthebucks...JA Happ is not Sandy Koufax. It's no sure thing that he'll ever be as good as he was this year. When he's won 20 games and he's pitched 200 innings then start to talk. Having Halladay on this team gives us a much better chance of winning the WS, then Happ.— booman55
- The problem is Halladay and Lee can't pitch complete games all year without their arms falling off. Whose going to close these games? If Houston just got Lyon does that mean they're going to let Valverde walk?— phasor
- canberry juice!!! LOL, that was funny!!!! "Departed"— sdot1
- Why all this thing about taylor or brown? they are not playing in the bigs right now and we dont know how will they perform.does marlon bird remind you guys something? These kids are just prospects make the damn trade or shut up.— Phillies08
- In a year or two after we do zero to help the starting five Hamels does his 09' replay again the fans will be screaming we should have gotten Halladay. This club like the rest in the city do the same thing over and over. They have more reasons to do nothing than to go and make the moves necessary. Look across the street they brought back Reid and for what the same show we know the ending to. The Sixers bring back a retread and for what some old fans comming back to relive the AI days...paaaaleeese! The Phils are just the same no different and they make you believe you never saw this act before. WRONG!— DDH1205
- phasor..Brad Lidge will close the games with Madson and Romero setting him up. If any of them fail, you can acquire reinforcements in July.— booman55
- dudes, come on, get real. Hamels seems to be a stud, but he has to get his act together. Brett Myers is the only pitcher the Phils can say they developed who won consistently- in 7 seasons since 2003 he won 10 more games FIVE times. and still, i don't think ANY of us would say Myers was a great starter or staff ace. so, they need to keep Hamels and while Haap looks very good, he has to prove it with a tough 2nd FULL year as a starter. look at Kendrick...UP AND DOWN but still with potential. so, in the mean time, the real question is are the Phils and the fans willing to part with TOP outfield and infield prospects, not to mention a Draybek for Halladay? YES! top starting pitching is the hardest thing to find - make it happen. I GUARANTEE YOU that the Yanks don't regret having CC now.— MichaelZoe
- Heard a discussion on ESPN yesterday about Halliday and possible trades. Several teams, including the Cardinals, Red Sox and Yankees, were mentioned but not the Phils. While the Phils were reverting back to an infielder whose stats are not that much better than what they have gotten rid of, the Yankees picked up an All Star center fielder.— atp2007
- mikestef100 and Y71s73: That is not true. In fact, anyone who knows baseballs, other GMs, and more importantly OTHER HITTING COACHES figured out Cole after his 2nd year and he got ROCKED. fastball / changeup works in the minors; you need a third pitch or varying breaking ball to compete. Ask Cliff Lee. We HOPE and THINK he is the future, but no GM or pitching coach in their right mind believes he is ready to be the top dog or they wouldn't have gone out to get Cliff Lee. Run the down the list of top Pitching draft picks, pitchers that we've traded away, and those top pitchers after their first year and you will see a laundry list of has-beens, injuries, and disappearing acts. that's just the way it is in baseball. pitchers are the most unpredictable performers in MLB. so when you have a shot to get a proven game winner, you get him. period. end of story.— MichaelZoe
- honestly, the fans are drunk and high on our team. do you how precious these moments are and how RARE it is to make it to the WS back to back? GET HALLADAY.— MichaelZoe
- Halladay is the best pitcher in the game.He threw three shutouts in September.Some other stars don't throw three shutouts in three years.He puts fear into good hitters,something Happ will never be able to do.As long as it can be done with Happ and Brown,it should be done.Taylor needs to kept for his righty bat and his off the field presence-a Stanford man who is not Tiger.— bigeastbeast
- MichaelZoe...you're assessment that hitting coaches figured out Cole Hamels is a classic. lol.— booman55
- Send them Blanton, Happ and Taylor ...— swash1
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YES, YES, YES. The time is now. We can worry about the future later...— delcodanno- MichaelZoe: I will admit at times during the season it did seem like hitters could see Hamels pitches coming from a mile away, but I can't say that hitting coaches for the most part, have figured him out. He does need another pitch, I agree, but unlike other lefty's he does have variations of his off speed stuff, such as his circle change up, and quarter change up.....I think the acquisition of Lee was due to Hamels shaky season, but he was never meant to be a substitute for Cole, just more of someone to take some pressure off him. Turns out he went above and beyond what he was brought in for, but this city does tend to bring out the best in players, e.g., Raul Ibanez.— mikestef100
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- I have no problem with over-paying (hey, it's not MY money!) to get Doc. But we don't want to repeat the mistake(s) of slashing our farm system to get the guy. But if we can get, and then keep him for a few years, I think they COULD part with either Happ or Drabek. And also afford to let one of our two minor-league outfield aces be in the deal, or possibly one of our present big league corner OF's. Because with his arm coming into the rotation, our offense would not have to be capable of NEEDING to score more than five runs a game for a couple of years. I am SO brilliant!— TBear
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- The thing with Halladay's salary is that he's only signed through this season so it's not like we'd be committed to an inflated payroll for 3-4 years. If the asking price comes down on Halladay, I think the Phils would seriously consider pulling the trigger. As for Lyon, good for Amaro for not paying $15 million over 3 years to a guy who would be pitching the 7th to 8th innings for us.— JimG
- Charlie was so enamored with the rookie lefty phenom that he sent Pedro out there in Game Six with the flu. Geez, ya think Halladay might have been a good fit?— dasher
- Why is everybody making or breaking next season on Halliday? The Phils should only do it if they can make a package like they did for Lee -- not giving up its highest prospect but still some really good players. I would work more on signing Lee. Closer aside, the Phils already have what it takes to get back to the Series.— echosmyron
- The guess here is that Roy is (smartly) acting the part of the Phils secret agent since he wants to come here. Here's how. The current Angels package is, by all accounts, a better package than whatever the Phils will offer, yet the deal isn't happening. Only reason I can surmise is because Roy is hijacking the deal, telling the Jays he won't take a trade to the Halos (or perhaps not without an extension), waiting for them to move on with someone else or drop out of the race. That leaves only 3 options: NYY, BOS or PHI. And since the Jays won't trade Roy within the division, it leaves them with Philly or nothing, and if they do nothing, they risk getting nothing for him if Roy is serious about not agreeing to a trade during the season. Since that would be suicide for them, the Jays then take the Phils (lower) offer. I hope I'm right about this, but I would bet good money on it. And for what it's worth, the smart money would be to trade Hamels for Halladay, and not because I'm a Hamels-hater. Quite the contrary. The business reality is that trading Hamels sheds more salary and means giving up fewer, if any, prospects. And it increases the chances of extending one or both of Roy or Cliff. You see, the Phils can afford both long term but they need young, inexpensive arms in the back end of the rotation to absorb the payroll hit in doing so (and Hamels doesn't qualify as inexpensive). But Happ, Drabek and one of Kendrick, Bastardo, Pedro or even Moyer for one year do (and don't foget Brett Myers is still out there...). They also need cheap, young OF's to replace Werth and/or Victorino over the next two years if Shane or Jayson are for real (the reality is that the Phils cannot afford them both if they are both stay at the All-Star level, while also paying Chase and Ryan). So the Phils can start 2010 with Halladay, Lee, Happ, Myers and Moyer/Pedro/Drabek with Brown and Taylor still on the farm. That's the dream sequence. Let's just hope Roy is in fact the secret agent.— bm2626
- Now that I've bloviated about the Halladay situation (see prior post), let's get to the second issue. Ibanez and Moyer. Reports are that the Phils are trying shed Jamie's salary (they'll probably need to eat a mil or two though). BOS is an ideal place to send Raul. I like Raul but his LH bat, with Chase's and Ryan's, just exagerrates the lack of balance and streakiness that all too many times characterized the Phils lineup. But if the Phils can trade Raul for a decent prospect or two, and can shed Jamie's salary, they find themselves with about another $15MM. Francisco can warm left for a year until Taylor is ready. Of course, they could also trade Victorino (move Werth to center) to help replenish the farm and take his $5MM, with some of the aforementioned $15MM, and sign Holliday. Lineup: Rollins (S), Utley (L), Holliday (R), Howard (L), Werth (R), Francisco/Taylor (R), Polanco (R), Ruiz (R). With a rotation of Halladay, Lee, Happ, Blanton and Pedro/Kendrick/Bastardo/Myers, I'd be giddy. I know it won't happen, but economically, it does work. I just don't understand the brass' attachment to Raul. He's a great guy but we need a stud RH bat to bat between Chase and Ryan.— bm2626
- Why haven't the bluejays taken the Angels offer? Is the proposed trade false? Does Doc not want to go there or sign an extension? Or are they working on a deal for an extension before deal would be finalized? The Jays would be nuts not to take that offer. As to Phillies rumors of Happ, Brown and other lesser prospects I find laughable, unless Phils are busting their budget by @ 15million. Reports are they would have to trade Blanton to free up payroll. So our 4th and 5th starter are Moyer and Kendrick. Granted Lee, Halladay, Hamels for one year would be enticing, but then what? Phils aren't signing both Lee and Halladay longterm. What happened to the Phils priority of fixing the bullpen? Don't they need to spend some money there. I believe only Lidge, Madson and Romero are signed and Lidge and Romero may not be ready for opening day. Are they bringing back any of Park, Durbin, Eyre, Condrey, Walker? Are they going to fill some of those spots with the likes of Bastardo, Escalona, Mathieson? I'm all for them getting Halladay for whats being reported and Phils blowing up their payroll, its not my money. What could be a possibilty is you trade Blanton and in a separate deal trade Victorino, Drabek, and other prospects (d'Arnaud, Gose to name 2) for Halladay. Trust that Taylor is ready for the show and move Werth to center or Fransisco in center with Taylor getting AB's in AAA and coming up with the big club during the season. Phillies keep Happ, Brown and Taylor. Phillies don't go way over budget, just a thought.— Deitz4
If the Phils give up anything major for Halladay I really hope they extend his contract here; otherwise this is a Vegas gamble for ONLY ONE MORE CHANCE at a World Series title.- Deitz - Halladay has made no secret of his preference to stay on the East Coast...His family lives about 15 minutes from the Phils' Spring Training facility in Brighthouse, FL. He wants a team that trains in FL, and the Angels trade in AZ. And he wants to go to a team with a clear shot at the WS. With Lackey likely gone and Figgins already out the door along with Vlad, do the Angels really look like a clear WS contender? More than likely, Halladay told the Angels he wouldn't sign an extension with them, making the deal a lot less palatable for them. And from what I've read, if Halladay could pick anywhere to play regardless of money or the trade market, it would be Philly. They offer everything he's looking for. This trade market could really come down to a Santana or Griffey - like deal, where the market is only 1 team and the BJs are forced to take below-market value.— ChrisInVT
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The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
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