Red Sox Making Move for Roy Halladay?
Could it be? The New York Daily News has reported that Theo Epstein and the Red Sox are going after Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay. The goal is to acquire Halladay in a trade before Baseball’s Winter Meetings even start in Indianapolis on December 7th. The Red Sox are supposedly putting on a “full court press” to acquire Halladay before any other team can do so. If the Red Sox can agree to terms with the Blue Jays, they will likely ask for a 48-72 hour window in which to work out a contract extension with Halladay (Halladay is set to become a free agent after the 2010 MLB schedule). In a weak free agent market this year, nabbing Halladay would be a coup for the Red Sox.
Halladay made 32 starts (239 innings) in 2009, going 17-10 with a 2.79 ERA. Halladay had 208 K’s and just 35 walks, good for a sparkling 1.13 WHIP. Halladay has racked up some serious innings over the last 4 seasons – at least 31 starts and at least 220 innings pitched in each of the last 4 seasons. He did have some arm issues that limited him to 21 starts in 2004 and 19 starts in 2005, but his durability the last 4 years shows that he is in good health. At 32, you’d have to believe that he has another 4-5 good years left in his body, so if the Red Sox can sign him through the 2014 MLB season in conjunction with the trade, the Red Sox should be all set.
The only bad side – the Red Sox would likely have to give up Clay Buchholz and one of their top prospects – Casey Kelly – in any deal to acquire Halladay. Buchholz was a pleasant surprise for the Red Sox in 2009 – 16 starts, 7-4 record, 4.21 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. He was a big reason they even made it to the playoffs after the Brad Penny and John Smoltz experiments failed and injuries to Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield adversely affected their ability to pitch well during the season. Kelly pitched 95 innings at the Class A level going 7-5 with a 2.84 ERA. He also hit .224 in 134 at-bats while playing shortstop in the Arizona Fall League.
I hate to see Buchholz go, but if the Red Sox can land Halladay in exchange, you gotta do it. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Halladay would be a pretty tough trio to face all season long. Come on Theo – gimme something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving…
