For Phils, Halladay watch continues

"It's crossed my mind each of his last few starts," the Toronto Blue Jays catcher said last night. "I know Philly is after him. Hopefully, he doesn't get traded. It's an honor working with him, and I don't want to see him go."

Three days before Friday's 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline, Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi continued to field offers for his ace righthander yesterday.

Ricciardi remains deep in dialogue with Phillies officials, but he made it clear that the Phils haven't met his price for Halladay, who takes a 142-69 career record into today's start against Seattle.

"We still need to be motivated , and we haven't been motivated," said Ricciardi, who last week asked the Phillies for pitchers J.A. Happ and Kyle Drabek, and top minor-league outfield prospect Dominic Brown.

In addition to the Phils, Ricciardi is talking with several other teams, including the Boston Red Sox. A report yesterday said the Red Sox had offered pitchers Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden and outfield prospect Ryan Westmoreland for Halladay. A person with knowledge of the offer shot down the report. However, the person indicated that Boston was ready to put Buchholz in play. That could adversely affect the Phillies, because Blue Jays sources say they favor Buchholz over any of the Phillies pitchers who have been discussed.

The Blue Jays want a big package for Halladay, or they say they will not deal him. Some baseball people, however, believe that the Jays must move him for financial reasons, and that teams will dig in until the eleventh hour, hoping that Toronto's demands come down. Halladay, who has four top-five finishes in Cy Young Award voting, including a first and a second, is signed through next season at $15.75 million.

The Jays are looking for a blue-chip pitching prospect in the deal, as well as a player who can step in and contribute immediately in the majors. That's what makes the Phillies, who have Drabek and Happ, attractive to them. Drabek, 21, is 11-2 with a 2.78 ERA and a 123-38 strikeouts-to-walks ratio in 20 games between single A and double A. He has allowed just 111 hits in 1291/3 innings. Happ, 26, takes a 7-1 record and a 2.97 ERA into tonight's start at Arizona.

On top of that, the Jays want another top prospect such as Brown, 21, and they may have an interest in shortstop Jason Donald. Jays scout Sal Butera watched Donald last night at Lehigh Valley. Baltimore scout Wayne Krivsky was also at the Lehigh Valley game. The Phils have had a longstanding interest in Orioles reliever George Sherrill, who is available.

Phillies officials aren't commenting on their pursuit of Halladay, but sources say they are reluctant to part with both Drabek and Happ because they believe they will need one of them in the rotation next year. Bringing on Halladay's salary could necessitate moving Joe Blanton in the off-season. Blanton, who is eligible for salary arbitration, will get a significant raise from his 2009 salary of $5.475 million.

Phillies players - Jimmy Rollins spoke up on ESPN radio yesterday - favor giving up some of the future for Halladay.

Former Phillies say Halladay would be a great addition, too.

"He's the kind of pitcher you tell your kids or your grandkids that you caught," said Barajas, a Phillie in 2007. "When you catch him, you feel like you're part of something special. He's one of the best pitchers of our generation, like Curt and Randy , except those guys had two dominant pitches and Roy has three - his sinker, his cutter, and his curveball. His cutter is his best pitch. It's right there with Rivera's.

Barajas caught Schilling and Johnson in the 2001 World Series with Arizona. Schilling and Johnson were the co-MVPs of that series. Barajas thinks that Halladay and Cole Hamels could form a similarly powerful one-two punch in October.

"Cole showed what he's capable of in big games last year," Barajas said. "You put Doc in that mix - you give him a shot in the postseason - and he's just going to flourish. I think he'd even be a better pitcher in that situation."

In addition to Halladay, the Phillies maintain interest Cleveland's Cliff Lee and Seattle's Jarrod Washburn. Phillies superscout Charley Kerfeld watched Washburn in Seattle last night and will scout Halladay today.

Kerfeld watched Halladay strike out 10 over nine innings in his last start.

Contact staff writer Jim Salisbury

at 215-854-4983 or jsalisbury@phillynews.com.