According to a report by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies can have Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay. All it would cost them is young major league pitcher J.A. Happ, top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek, high-ceiling outfield prospect Dominic Brown, the International Space Station, Citizens Bank Park, the moon, a fighter jet, an HD copy of Erin Andrews’ peephole video and a rare (never been heard) collection of Guns N’ Roses songs on vinyl.

Shockingly, the Phillies don’t want to part with all of that:

According to an executive of one team that has spoken with the Phillies’ brass, the Phillies are adamantly opposed to giving up both Happ and Drabek. There are indications they would like to substitute pitching prospect Carlos Carrasco for one of those two, preferably in place of the highly regarded Drabek.

Blue Jays officials have told other clubs that Philadelphia still hasn’t informed them it was unwilling to include both pitchers in a package for Holliday. But another source said the two sides are currently discussing “a list of seven or eight names” that will constitute the framework of a 3-for-1 or 4-for-1 deal.

Drabek, Happ and Brown are on that list, along with Carrasco, outfielder Michael Taylor, catcher Lou Marson and shortstop Jason Donald. It’s believed that hard-throwing Class A righthander Jason Knapp was also on the list at one time. But Knapp just went on the disabled list with “shoulder fatigue.” So, according to one source, talk about him has “cooled.”

Now that the Blue Jays have finished scouting the Phillies’ system, the two sides have reached the stage where they are swapping names back and forth, according to multiple sources.

What’s interesting about this situation is that it appears that both of these teams are somewhat close to striking a deal for Halladay. But Toronto is going to have to back off its demands a tad (maybe they don’t go after Drabek and the space station) in order to complete a deal.

A package of Happ, Carrasco and Brown for Halladay seems like a fair deal for both sides. It would still be a steep price to pay for Philadelphia, but Halladay is as close to a guarantee as you’re going to get and he would dramatically raise the Phillies’ chances at getting back to the World Series.

If (and that’s a big if) Roy Halladay gets traded in the next two weeks, the deal might include one of the Blue Jays’ other players too.

Say a team needs a middle infielder … hop aboard, Marco Scutaro.

If someone needs bullpen help … Jason Frasor or Scott Downs could join Halladay.

If a club needs a lefty specialist … Brian Tallet could join Halladay on a plane out of Dodge.

“We’ve been told that the deal could expand, depending upon our need,” said an American League scout.

Scott Rolen has drawn interest from the Cincinnati Reds, but now the Reds look as if they will be sellers rather than buyers.

The Jays have scouted the Philadelphia Phillies’ class-A Clearwater club this week and watched Kyle Drabek’s start for double-A Reading at Altoona last night.

The Jays have watched the Milwaukee Brewers’ affiliate at triple-A Nashville, where shortstop Alcides Escobar, 22, is hitting .298 with three homers and 29 RBIs with 33 steals in 91 games. Scouts compare Escobar to a young Derek Jeter … “without the intangibles.”

Third baseman Mat Gamel, who turns 24 this week, is hitting .336 with eight homers and 31 RBIs in 33 games at Nashville.

The Jays also have scouted class-A Greenville, part of the Boston Red Sox organization. Kyle Evans, a second Sox scout, showed last night, joining scouts from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Brewers and the Phillies.

I’m starting to have the mindset that Halladay isn’t going anywhere. I think Toronto GM J.P. Riccardi is playing everyone. He’s dangling Halladay out there to see what kind of coup he can expect next year when he really has to trade Halladay before the ace becomes a free agent. If he gets a massive offer this year then obviously he’s going to listen, but I don’t think he’s going to get a massive offer and therefore Halladay is staying put for another year.

I just don’t think Riccardi is ready to trade his most popular player yet. I think he’s getting the fans ready for the enviable; Halladay will be traded next summer.

Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi has set a July 28 deadline to complete a deal for ace Roy Halladay, but admits that a trade is probably unlikely.

“At this point, it’s probably unlikely that we’ll trade Doc,” Ricciardi said Tuesday.

“No one has really stepped up yet,” Ricciardi said. “We’ve got to be highly motivated to move him. We haven’t been highly motivated yet.”

“In three days, not much is probably going to happen,” Ricciardi said. “It’s such a magnitude, the trade. He’s got to OK the team he’s going to, we’ve got to agree on prospects. That doesn’t happen, traditionally in baseball, in one hour. I think we need a little more time than that.”

If a trade is unlikely, then I have to question Ricciardi’s thinking behind putting Halladay (somewhat) on trade market in the first place. Granted, he’s said all along that he would have to be blown away by any offer, but what was he expecting?

If he believed that some team was just going to swoop in and offer him three top prospects and a bona fide All-Star for Halladay without even attempting to do the negotiation dance, then Ricciardi has been in la-la land the entire time. Halladay is a phenomenal pitcher and could easily make a playoff contender into a World Series favorite, but the Doc is also 32, doesn’t come cheap, and becomes a free agent in a year and a half. That’s a lot to consider for a team even remotely interested in him, nevertheless one seriously entertaining putting a package together.

I think Ricciardi never had serious intentions on trading Halladay in the first place. Putting Halladay on the trade market this year was essentially a practice round for him next year when he will actually have to move the ace before Doc becomes a free agent after the 2010 season. With the Jays freefalling out of first place following a red-hot start, Ricciardi couldn’t risk the backlash he would receive trading away the club’s most popular player.

While there’s still a chance he could be dealt, it appears that Halladay is going to be a Blue Jay until this time next year.

Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune writes that the White Sox should be willing to give up a significant amount of talent in order to acquire Blue Jays’ ace Roy Halladay.

Let’s put on our GM cap and start with shortstop Alexei Ramirez and pitcher John Danks. I know: a steep price. But worth it. Halladay is the overpowering pitcher the Sox haven’t had since Jack McDowell. Last season, he struck out 206 batters and walked 39. So far this year, it’s 106-17.

He would be a difference-maker for a club like the White Sox, who are within 1 1/2 games of first place in the American League Central. How does a rotation of Halladay, Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras and Gavin Floyd sound? It makes all the heated conversations about a fifth starter seem almost meaningless.

The White Sox played well enough before the All-Star break to end any discussion about whether they’ll be sellers before the July 31 trade deadline. Now they need to be buyers. It very well could be that they would have to give up a prospect or two in addition to two major-leaguers. Do it.

Not that I disagree with what Morrissey wrote, but allow me to play devils advocate here.

Halladay is a free agent after the 2010 season and will mostly likely test the free agent waters searching for his last opportunity to win a championship (assuming of course he doesn’t win one this season or next). That means the White Sox will probably only get him for a year and a half. Is a year and a half of Halladay worth giving up Ramirez, Danks and two decent prospects for X amount of years?

It might be, but that’s a steep price. Kenny Williams would absolutely have to feel that Halladay makes the Sox legitimate World Series contenders to give up multiple pieces. If he doesn’t fully believe that Halladay gets them to the WS, then Williams needs to continue his rebuilding plan with the core he has.

Roy Halladay says the odds that he’ll get traded this season are a “flip of the coin.”

“I’d rather hit than face Jeter, A-Rod, Matsui and Teixeira,” Halladay said.
He added: “I think there is so much that goes into it. I’m still not 100 percent sure which direction we’re going in in Toronto. If Toronto does decide to do something, it’s really going to be something that helps the organization. There’s going to be a lot of pieces; it’s going to be complicated. I think it’s going to be kind of 50-50.”

Halladay, who is under contract for next season at $15.75 million, has a no-trade clause and would have to approve any deal. He did not say whether an extension would have to be part of any deal.
The Blue Jays have sent scouts throughout the majors and minors as they try to gauge the talent pool they might get back for one of the game’s best pitchers.

“It’s a tough situation, but you always want to win,” Halladay said. “You want that chance to win, that’s every player’s dream. For me, I’m looking [at] it as they’re exploring options. Something may come of it, something may not. I’m trying to keep the emotions out of it as much as I can.”

I happen to think the Jays will hang onto Halladay because they’ll be afraid of the potential fan backlash that they’ll receive from trading away their biggest star. That obviously wouldn’t be a good baseball decision (as in, it wouldn’t be wise for a team to allow their fan base to make a decision for them), but it’s not like keeping Halladay for the next year and a half is a bad thing. After all, he is one of the top 5 pitchers in the game.

I think Halladay will wind up being shipped out next season because he’s a free agent after the 2010 season. I think Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi is just kicking the tires on a deal this year to see what he could potentially land for Halladay. Of course, he could probably get more for Halladay this year, with it being a weak trade market for arms.

Let’s say you’re the GM of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim/Hermosa Beach/San Mateo, California. Your club is currently in a battle with the Texas Rangers (who have an outstanding lineup by the way) in the AL West and you learn that Toronto, at the very least, is listening to offers for ace Roy Halladay.

Roy Halladay!

You’re beside yourself thinking of the possibilities of a starting rotation that features “the Doc,” John Lackey, Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana. You think to yourself, “There’s no way the Rangers will be able to handle a rotation like that. In fact, there’s no way the Red Sox, the Yankees or even Moses himself could overcome that starting five!”

It’s true – Halladay is a bad man. He currently sports a 10-2 record with a 2.79 ERA and a dazzling 1.09 WHIP. He would make any good rotation great and any great rotation into a World Series-caliber machine. He’s that good and probably worth sacrificing future pieces for.

But considering Blue Jays’ GM J.P. Ricciardi is probably looking for an overwhelming deal (assuming he really is considering trading Halladay and this isn’t just one big media tease), is Halladay worth the price (both financially and in terms of prospects) for a year and a half? Remember, he becomes a free agent at the end of the 2010 season and given his age, he’s going to want to test the market to play for a contender of his choosing.

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