Trade Deadline

Today was the MLB’s non-waiver trade deadline and what I (and all other Jays fans) was surprised by was the move that didn’t happen: our very own smooth pimp general manager J.P Riccardi decided to hang on to Roy Halladay. While the Philadelphia Phillies seemed to be the most logical fit for Halladay, they fell out of the sweepstakes early Wednesday when they acquired Cliff Lee from Cleveland, but what surprised me the most about this years deadline was that Halladay was not perused more aggressively by the Bosox or Yankees. Neither the Yanks or Bosox are particularly thin on starting pitching, but given the kind of difference maker Halladay is, he could have single handedly changed the face of competition in the AL East. If I was either the Yankees or Red Sox, I would have been heavily pursuing Doc. Imagine Boston going into the playoffs with a rotation fronted by Halladay, Josh Beckett, Dice-K and Jon Lester or the Yankees running out Halladay, CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Joba Chamberlin. Adding Halladay would make either rotation the most dominant in the game. Whichever team that acquired him would have instantly become World Series and AL East favorites for both this year and next as well as provide a striking blow in the on-going rivalry between the two teams. If Boston was still pissed that New York poached Mark Texiera this off season what better way to get payback? If New York is serious about dethroning Boston as reigning division champ and reasserting their dominance what better way then by acquiring one of the games best pitchers? Halladay is one of the only players in baseball who could change the dynamic between the two rival teams in this way. Because these two rivals play in the Jays’ own division they would have had to give up much more in the way of prospects in order to acquire Halladay. However, obtaining a player like Halladay is well worth a Clay Bucholtz or a Phil Hughes or any other combination of high ceiling prospects, especially considering you would have Halladay for at least 2 post seasons and have a good chance to resigning him to a long term deal (the guy just wants to win dammit). Lastly although I know that baseball people will say that it was a mistake to keep Halladay and that his value will never again be this high, I am still happy to see him stay in Toronto. Even if the Jays can’t seem to be able to win with him, he is good enough that he makes the Jays exciting - every fifth day, we get to watch one of the best pitchers in baseball. If he had been traded the only thing worth watching in a Blue Jays game would be Adam Lind and Aaron Hill at bats. So while it may not be the best move for the team long term, the 2009 Blue Jays are a lot more palatable now that I know Roy is still going to pitching every 5th day.