Phillies land Halladay, trade Lee to Mariners in blockbuster deal
According to a report by SI.com, the Phillies have agreed to a trade that will send Roy Halladay to Philadelphia and Cliff Lee to the Mariners.
The Phillies are in agreement on a three-team trade with the Mariners and Blue Jays to acquire star pitcher Roy Halladay, SI.com has learned. All indications are that Cliff Lee will likely be heading from Philadelphia to Seattle in the trade.
Sources say Halladay will agree to a contract extension to complete the deal. It’s expected to be a formality, and though terms are not yet clear, it’s expected to be worked out in the next couple days. Halladay wanted to be in Philadelphia, as the Phillies train in Clearwater, Fla., not far from his offseason home.
The Phillies are giving up prospects to Toronto to get Halladay, but it isn’t known yet which players are in the deal. Philadelphia, which would also get prospects from Seattle, is trying to keep its payroll at around $140 million.
At first glance, I’m shocked that the Phillies traded Lee away in order to complete this deal. He was dominating in the postseason, posting a perfect 4-0 record and a 1.56 ERA in five starts. But both he and Halladay are in their last year of their contracts and if Philadelphia can only pay for one, they might as well go with the guy that they can lock up long term – especially if that player is Halladay. There was no guarantee that Lee would re-sign with Philadelphia.
With their pitching staff now set (Lee and Felix Hernandez form one hell of a 1-2 combo), the Mariners must be gearing up to make a run and I wouldn’t be surprised if they wound up signing Jason Bay sometime this offseason to boost their offense.
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Posted in: MLB
Tags: 2009 MLB Offseason, Cliff Lee, Cliff Lee Mariners trade, Cliff Lee trade, Cliff Lee traded to Mariners, Headlines, MLB trades, mlb trades 2009, Philadelphia Phillies, Roy Halladay, Roy Halladay Phillies trade, Roy Halladay trade, Roy Halladay traded to Phillies, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays
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I understand getting Halladay, and Lee apparently rejected an extension offer. But why trade Lee? His salary next year is very reasonable. They could have made themselves the best team period by having both of them.
Maybe they needed Lee in order to get Halladay.
I don’t know enough about it, but Lee is going to Seattle. I suspect the Phillies could have given up more players to keep Lee and still get Halladay. Can you imagine having BOTH of them?
I agree – that would have been sick.
But who knows what the parameters of the deal were. They were able to lock up Halladay long term and Lee rejected an extension. So if Lee had to be included in the three-team deal that got them Halladay, then the Phillies probably felt they had no choice.
If that’s the case I understand it.
I think they made a money decision and decided not to keep Lee if he wouldn’t sign an extension. That’s a dumb move. Lee plus Halladay would be awesome, even if only for one year.