SI.com Is Confirming The Trade, But The Only Media Outlet To Do So

Jon Heyman Reports

Reports Looming: "Doc" Has Been Called On

It has been reported that Roy "Doc" Halladay is in Philadelphia and in talks with the Phillies front office about a possible extension. There is no official word on whether the Phillies have traded for the dominant right-handed pitcher, but there is high speculation that a deal went down.

If a trade did happen, it would be a three-team deal with the Blue Jays and Mariners. The general nature of it would be the Phillies ship Cliff Lee to Seattle and Toronto gets the Mariner's prospects.

Obviously, more on this to come later when everything is cleared up.

Hear This: Phillies Front Runners For Halladay...Again

I'm going to go with the "don't get your hopes up" approach this time, opposite of what I did during the season. The reason? Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com is reporting that the Phillies and Angels are the front runners to trade for Blue Jays ace Roy "Doc" Halladay.

Is Rosenthal and respectable journalist? Yes.

Am I going to get my hopes up? No.

Why? Because I don't want to be disappointed when the Phillies don't get him.

Why did I say "when?" The reason is Rosenthal is reporting that the Phillies would have to trade J.A. Happ and either Michael Taylor or Dominic Brown. I'm pretty sure they won't want to do that. But hey, if it happens, that would be phenomenal.

Is getting Halladay the smart move?

This is related to this week's poll. I'm not going to give my opinion because it doesn't matter. It's yours that counts. Should the Phillies make a big splash for Roy Halladay? You know, it's funny. This is very similar to last season-the Phils were in first place, but they're pitching staff was dubbed to having problems. Everyone thought they needed another pitcher. Thus, people were SCREAMING for C.C. Sabathia. They were saying the window is open and it may never be open again, so the Phils should send their prospects to Cleveland for the big southpaw.

Well, they didn't. They ended up getting "steady" Joe Blanton. The Brewers traded Matt LaPorta for Sabathia. Who won the World Series?

The Phillies. And what are you going to have to give up to get Halladay? Most likely it is highly noted prospect Kyle Drabek and other young guns, or maybe even decent third or fourth starter in J.A. Happ. I also heard people talking about the Phillies might have to trade an everyday position player. Do you want to give up a Jayson Werth or Shane Victorino. Doesn't this team have excellent chemistry? And one more thing-Halladay has NEVER pitched in a big game. Since he debuted in the majors in 1998 with Toronto, the Blue Jays have NEVER been in a pennant race or a playoff game. Also, in regards to 2008, Sabathia never really has had or did have success in the playoffs/big game. Obviously, Halladay and Sabathia are two different pitchers. But it just goes to show that getting the A-List doesn't always work.

That's one side.

The other side is you did it one year, but can you do it a second year with the B-List pitchers? Halladay is arguably the best pitcher in baseball. If Cole Hamels pitches like he did in October last year along with Halladay...oh my. You without question have the best one-two punch in terms of starting pitchers on paper. Also, your starting rotation, which has taken some bruises, is much stronger.

It's a win-win either way (Knock on Wood), with hopefully the more successul one with the choie you pick.

So, do you risk the future and make the deal or continue the "Pat Gillick Way" of getting that B-List guy.