Report: Tigers could have had Halladay?
According to a report by Lynn Henning of the Detroit News, the Blue Jays wanted starter Rick Porcello, Ryan Perry and Casey Crosby from the Tigers in exchange for ace Roy Halladay but Detroit declined.
Porcello is a 20-year-old right-hander who is 9-7 with a 4.62 ERA and likely will draw votes for American League rookie of the year.
Perry, 22, another right-hander, was the Tigers’ first-round draft pick in 2008 and has pitched effectively out of the bullpen for manager Jim Leyland’s club. His ERA is 3.90, but 1.80 since his recent recall from the minors.
Crosby, 20, was the Tigers’ fifth-round draft pick in 2007 and is regarded as perhaps its top minor league prospect. He is a left-hander who pitches at Class A West Michigan, where he is 8-3 with a 2.92 ERA.
Let’s operate under the assumption that this report is true. Why wouldn’t the Tigers pull the trigger on a deal like this? I understand that Porcello, Perry and Crosby would have been quite a steep price to pay, but the Tigers have a solid pitching rotation and adding an arm like Halladay would have given them an opportunity to compete for a World Series.
The postseason is all about who can compile the best four-man rotation and Detroit could have had a quartet of Halladay, Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson and Armando Galarraga. Granted, Galarraga would have been a weak link, but Tiger opponents would still have had to deal with a top three of Halladay, Verlander and Jackson in a seven-game series. That rotation, coupled with a solid lineup, could have potentially lifted the Tigers back to the World Series for the second time in four years. (That’s not to say that the Tigers can’t compete for a World Series without Halladay, but you get the point.)
With baseball transforming back into a young man’s game, I respect that the Tigers want to hang onto their youth. But Halladay is damn near a guarantee, which can’t be said for the three prospects Detroit would have had to give up. Plus, with Halladay not set to become a free agent until after the 2010 season, if the Tigers weren’t satisfied with the trade, they could have flipped the “Doc” next year and got prospects (not those prospects, but prospects) back.
I just don’t understand why the Tigers wouldn’t take a chance and pull the trigger on a deal like this. It could have been the difference from winning the AL Central and winning the AL Pennant.
The Tigers apparently want to build for the future with a roster of aging talent in Polanco, Guillen, Ordonez, and others. Giving up three prospects to get the best pitcher in the game seems like a no-brainer. We don’t know how these prospects will ever turn out, and this team is built to win now, even more so with Halladay.
Plus, Halladay comes back next year and can be traded a year from now for prospects if the Tigers aren’t in the hunt.
A rotation of Halladay-Verlander-Jackson is scary and would give Detroit a chance to win any 7-game series with that combo pitching at least six of the games.
The Tigers have only had one playoff appearance in the last two decades for a reason. They may have just passed on a sure-fire showing this year and next. Way to go Dombrowski!
Oooh… Anthony, I have to disagree with you on this one. I will concede to almost everyone of your arguments, mainly that with the 3 headed monster of Verlander, Jackson, and Halladay the Tigers would have been VERY tough to beat. However, as a Tigers fan that has watched every game this year (and really every other year for that matter) I haven’t seen a prospect like Porcello before. He may have Mark Prior arm injuries one day, or fall apart after his 21st birthday, but from what I’ve seen, he is the real deal.
I could have definitely given up Perry and Crosby (both great prospects) in that trade, but adding Porcello was too much. Trading away Smoltz for Doyle Alexander won us a pennant once too, but I’ve also had to watch him pile up over 230 wins since then. Alexander led the Tigers to one pennant, how many was Smoltz involved in with the Braves?
Jon – fair enough, my friend. And that’s a great point about Smoltz.
I see a window closing for the Tigers and while Porcello may in fact be the real deal, I think you guys could have competed for a WS this year and next.
We’ll see though. If Porcello goes on to have a Smoltz-like career, hanging onto him was obviously smart. (Unless of course they don’t win anything over the course of his career!)
It’s a huge gamble when you’re making moves at the deadline, that’s for sure. But, I love what the Tigers did today by acquiring Washburn for 2 propects (Luke French was in the rotation, but still a prospect that was up too early by necessity) Washburn is a fly ball pitcher that needs to be in a large park in order to succeed, and what better place than spacious Comerica Park? I like our chances of throwing Verlander, Jackson, Washburn and Porcello in a playoff series! I don’t remember the exact number, but I’m pretty sure Washburn’s ERA was hovering around 2.70 for the year.