According to a “high-ranking official” cited in an article by The National Post, the Toronto Blue Jays will take as much time as needed to trade Roy Halladay — if they trade him at all.
Would they actually keep Halladay through 2010 and allow him to leave via free agency next winter?
The first free agents of this winter’s pool have agreed to terms with new teams: Alex Gonzalez has moved on to the Toronto Blue Jays, and both Andruw Jones and Omar Vizquel are moving from Texas to the Chicago White Sox.
How do these signings affect the Mets?
The latest column from Ken Rosenthal reports that the Mets, Cubs, and Blue Jays are engaged in talks that would send Luis Castillo to Chicago, Milton Bradley to Toronto, and Lyle Overbay to New York.
Hat tip to loyal MetsToday reader “isuzudude” for the link.
Before you get too excited, though, Rosenthal also reports,
(NOTE: this article is by MetsToday contributing writer and resident stathead Matt Himelfarb — be kind, and keep an open mind)
Rumors of the Dodgers recent financial troubles due to the McCourts’ nasty split should be welcome news to the Mets. The only other potential Roy Halladay suitors that could fairly compensate baseball’s best pitcher appear to be the Jay’s inter-division rivals, the Yankees and the Red Sox. Both Boston and New York do not have unlimited payrolls, and figure to set their sights, both financially and in regard to prospects, on other priorities. The Jays might make a token attempt at competing next year, hoping to make reasonable run in 2011. Whatever the case, they probably do not want Roy Halladay pitching against them for at least the next half-decade.
Needless to say, the market for Halladay has been softening even more since July 31st. Unless Halladay decides to take a hometown discount, Halladay will be traded this off-season, as new General Manager Alex Anthopoulos recognizes that there is no advantage to keeping Halladay for 2010, or risk waiting until the trade deadline.
This is undoubtedly good news for Omar and co.
The New York Times is reporting that the Mets may go after Roy Halladay, if in fact the Toronto Blue Jays make him available this winter. As MetsBlog notes, the fact the Mets have little in the way of near-ready prospects in their farm system may not matter, since few teams will be able to … Read more
Over the past 24 hours, two MLB general managers were relieved of their duties. New Padres owner Jeff Moorad fired Kevin Towers and the Blue Jays let go J.P. Ricciardi. Ricciardi was the golden boy oft-mentioned in Moneyball, but was unable to turn his saber-magic into success in Toronto. The SI.com article summed up his … Read more
By now you’ve read or heard about Jon Heyman’s SI column reporting that the Mets turned down a Blue Jays trade proposal for Roy Halladay. According to Heyman: Toronto’s request of the Mets for star pitcher Roy Halladay was for top outfield prospect Fernando Martinez, young pitchers Bobby Parnell and Jon Niese and shortstop prospect … Read more
It’s the same old, same old — the July 31st trading deadline nears, the Mets are desperate to acquire some players, but simply do not have the necessary chips to bring in what they need. This year, though, there’s a big difference. Read on …
