It’s hard to call a team about to spend $70 million to $80 million cheap but that is exactly what the Phillies would be if they pull off the corresponding Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee trades.
Cheap?
Yeah I said it.
It’s cheap because the Phillies want to get one of the best pitchers in baseball without having to really pay for it. How do you get a high-priced ace without having to break the bank? You ship away another ace to offset the costs.
That’s what the Phillies will do sometime this week if they are able to finalize deals that would bring Halladay to town from Toronto and ship Lee to Seattle.
The move would save the Phillies the $9 million owed to Lee so that they can pay Halladay some part of the $15.75 million owed to him in 2010 and about $60 million more to keep Doc in Philly until 2013.
Doc Halladay was in Philly getting a physical Tuesday morning -- one of the many steps that needed to take place to make this whole thing happen -- and assuming the deal is done he is here to stay.
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By signing Doc long-term but not for six or seven seasons the Phillies know they have an ace for the future -- something they didn’t have if Lee walked after this season. The team is giving away top-prospects (possibly Michael Taylor and Kyle Drabek, according to ESPN.com) to get Halladay but they would also replenish the farm with Mariners prospects (possibly including Phillippe Aumont and Tyson Gillies according to ESPN).
It’s good baseball to get an ace without mortgaging to farm system but these guys should want to win now no matter the cost.
The Yankees or Red Sox (a.k.a. the big boys the Phillies are trying to play with) would expand their payrolls to keep both guys for a season -- make a run at the World Series -- but the Phils’ brass wants to stay around $140 million so they can’t.
It's easy for fans to complain that millionaires should spend more millions -- it's not like its our money. But, the team already hiked tickets prices for next season so with or without Lee Phillies fans are already paying the price of the team’s recent success.
The essential Halladay for Lee swap though does make good baseball sense. Despite Halladay never throwing a postseason pitch, he is an upgrade over Lee.
Doc brings a decade of eating innings and baffling hitters while Lee amazed at points in 2009 and was unhittable in ’08 but he was so bad in ’07 that he was Brett Myersed to the minors.
Halladay is an upgrade. He has averaged a 17-9 record with a 3.43 ERA and a 3.29:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Only twice has Halladay posted a 4-plus ERA twice in 11 full seasons with the Blue Jays.
He won the 2003 American League Cy Young an honor matched by Lee in 2008.
But, Lee is slightly behind Halladay for his career. He is 16-9 with a 3.97 ERA and a 2.71:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He has posted an ERA north of 4 three times since he became a full-time hurler in 2004.
Halladay is better than Lee, but why couldn’t the Phillies have both?
Lee should be pitching with a chip on his shoulder in 2010. He is currently underpaid at $9 million a season and in his walk year -- he should have extra incentive to pitch great so that teams would fork over the CC Sabathia-style (seven years, $161 million) years and cash he desires.
Add to Lee a righty horse like Doc and the Phillies would have arguably the best left-right duo since Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling played for the Diamondbacks (and we all saw what those guys did in beating the Yankees).
By pulling off this deal the Phillies showed that they want to win and that anyone could be moved to do so -- including the team ace -- but they also showed that expanding their payroll isn’t worth the cost, even when Halladay shopping.
Come next October fans will see if that philosophy can keep the Phillies up with the American League big boys they so desire to be.
