Should The New York Yankees Be Shopping This Halladay Season?
July 23, 2009 · Brandon Katz · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
With the recent amount of attention and media coverage Toronto Blue Jays’ GM J.P. Ricciardi is getting, you would have thought he recruited minor leaguers from Mars, killed off one of the Oceanic Six, and convinced Congress to approve Obama’s new health care plan all in one day.
In reality, Blue Jays ace pitcher Roy Halladay is generating all of this interest. As we all know, Ricciardi has put arguably the best pitcher in the majors (along with Tim Lincemcum) on the trading block and is currently fielding offers.
Although it is unlikely that the Jays would trade Halladay to a division rival, if they trade him at all, it’s never too much of a stretch to ask if the New York Yankees should try and deal for Halladay.
The 32-year-old right-hander is 11-3 (tied for the most wins in the AL) with a 2.73 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP this season. It is these stats that have countless front offices drooling at the mouth with the possibility of landing the “Doc”.
Although New York is not one of the teams being mentioned as top players in the deal, you can never count them out of a juicy high-stakes move. Remember when Mark Teixeira was days away from signing with the Red Sox? Well we all know how that one ended up.
The question is do the Yanks want to bite the bullet and sacrifice a part of their future for success now? To swing a deal for Halladay Toronto would probably ask for Joba Chamberlain, either Melky Cabrera or Brett Gardner to complete their underachieving outfield and an assortment of top prospects.
The young players the Blue Jays would most likely be looking at would be catcher Jesus Montero, outfielder Austin Jackson, RHP Andrew Brackman, LHP Mark Melancon and possibly RHP Dellin Betances.
Now New York’s GM Brian Cashman has repeatedly stated in recent years that the organization is going to be committed to developing young homegrown talent, a strategy that produced four championships from 1996-2000. So there may be some unwillingness in New York to relinquish top prospects. But it’s also hard to ignore the upside that Halladay would bring with him.
If the Yankees managed to complete a deal their rotation would be spearheaded by Roy Halladay, CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett. If Burnett can keep his walks down for the rest of the season, you would be looking at the best rotation the league regardless of Joba’s recent regression and Pettites inconsistency.
The Yankees currently are ranked 10th in the AL in ERA (4.39) and 9th in opposing OPS (.755). So right now their starting pitching is “middle of the pack”, not terrible but not championship status either.
The trade would transform the Yankees from a pretty good team to a serious contender. With three top-flight starters to rely on in the early playoff series and an offense that leads the American League in runs, you could expect late October ball from this team.
But how many guys do the Yankees need to bring in? Why is it that they are always one piece away? Not too long ago it was deemed that Sabathia would be the final piece to the puzzle, the necessary catalyst to push New York to the next level.
And now the same things are being said in Halladay’s case. Sooner or later the Yankees are going to have to start winning big games with the players they have or else Girardi’s tenure in New York will be short lived.
One thing is for sure; the Yankees would definitely be a better team with Halladay this season than without him. But is New York willing to give up on seasons down the road and important replacement players? Brian Cashman is going to have a very interesting Halladay season.
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