After a huge amount of speculation both before the 2009 trading deadline, and ever since the 2009 season ended, Roy Halladay is officially a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies traded 3 prospects for him: minor league righthander Kyle Drabek, outfielder Michael Taylor and catcher Travis D’Arnaud. They subsequently signed him to a 3 year, $60 million extension (he has one year at 15.75 million due to him on his old deal also). At the press conference that introduced him to Philadelphia, I couldn’t help but be blown away. As a reporter asked Roy why he would take a below market deal to be in Philadelphia for the next 4 years (at $75.75 million), Roy answered that Philadelphia is where he wanted to be. Stop and think about how amazing that is for a second, the best pitcher in baseball took less money to be in Philly, because WE were his first choice. Not the Yankees, not the Red Sox, but your Philadelphia Phillies are the first choice of anyone, much less the best pitcher in the game. The tables sure have turned since Curt Schilling couldn’t wait to force his way out of town.
Not all the news is good however, in a separate trade, Cliff Lee has been traded to the Seattle Mariners for 3 of their top prospects (minor league outfielder Tyson Gillies and right-handers Phillipe Aumont and Juan Ramirez). General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said he had to get some prospects back to avoid the proverbial cupboard being bare. Reading in between the lines on this, I think clearly there were some monetary constraints that he was working under. As much as it would have been so beautiful to keep both Lee and Halladay for this year, I do not believe that Lee would have resigned with us after this year, so I think Roy Halladay for 4 years is clearly much better than Cliff Lee for 1 year.
All in all, I love this trade. Last July I would have given up all the prospects we traded away for Lee, plus the ones we just traded for Halladay without even getting 3 players back from the Mariners. Considering what we got back, I think it’s a no-brainer. In July, Toronto wanted J.A. Happ and our top outfield prospect, Domonic Brown (who is a higher rated player than Michael Taylor).
Enjoy this time while it lasts, Phillies’ fans, this is the golden era of the Philadelphia Phillies. The best players in the game are naming Philadelphia as their most choice of destinations, and we are trading for a different Cy Young Award winner every 4 months or so. Instead of constantly watching the big fish going to New York and Boston every single time, they are coming to us. This trade should ensure that the Phillies are standing atop the NL East for the next few years, and with a heck of a chance to win a second or even third championship, and to me, that’s all we can ask for. We’ll miss you Cliff Lee, but 3 cheers for Ruben Amaro Jr. and the thought of Roy Halladay pitching every 5th day for the next 4 years.
Do you like the trade? Do you hate it? What are your thoughts?
- Murdock
