Are the Phils Dangling Cole to Get a Halladay?
By KAREN ARAIZA and DAN STAMM
Updated 9:46 AM EST, Tue, Nov 10, 2009
The Phillies tried to get Roy Halladay in a trade with the Toronto last summer and now they're at it again, sources told Inquirer baseball columnist Jim Salisbury.
Just another day at baseball's general managers' meetings but now there is a bigger wrinkle.
The Phillies could be dangling former NLCS and World Series MVP Cole Hamels as bait to lure the Blue Jays into a deal, according to a report on Comcast Sportsnet Philly that was quoted on Bleacher Report.com.
Discsussion about a Hamels for Halladay deal was also all over Twitter Tuesday morning.
Could Cole be the final piece to finally bring the former Cy Young Award-winning Halladay to Philly?
Don't bet on it -- normally if the public hears about a deal then it isn't happening. The prime example was this past season when the Phillies seemed certain winners in the Halladay sweepstakes only for the Phightins to pull the trigger on eventual postseason star Cliff Lee instead.
Toronto is still open to the idea of a trade, according to Inqy sources.
The Phillies might be trying to improve their starting pitching but GM Ruben Amaro Jr. seemed focused elsewhere.
"We're more bullpen-intensive than anything else," Amaro said in the Inquirer report.
Maybe Rubes was just playing coy -- keeping mum on the surface while trying to make a deal behind the scenes. The Hamels for Halladay deal seems like a pipe dream. It would be difficult to see the Phillies give up on a 25-year-old possible future Cy Young winner for a once Cy Young winner who is 32 and has a history of injury problems.
Money could and who the Phils would have to lose in order to gain Halladay could both be issues. The right-hander's 2010 salary is $15.75. The Jays asking price could also remain high and they would likely need more than just Hamels to get a deal done. Last time around, Toronto wanted possible Rookie of the Year J.A. Happ, top-prospect Kyle Drabek as well as outfielders Dominic Brown and Anthony Gose, according to the Inqy.
"We're in a fortunate position," Amaro said to the Inqy, talking in general terms about the team. "We've become an attractive place to go."
First Published: Nov 10, 2009 6:51 AM EST
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