For the Yankees, Roy Halladay Is Just Johan Santana 2.0

Roy Halladay rumors and discussions are all the rage right now, so the thought of dealing for him has been on my mind. I’m sure you can guess that I am against a deal for Halladay, unless it comes at the right price. You see, dealing for Roy Halladay is exactly what the Yankees didn’t do after 2007 when Johan Santana was on the table.

From 2005-2007, Santana accumulated 19.5 WAR. He made $19 million in 2008.

From 2007-2009, Roy Halladay was worth 20 WAR. He is set to make $15.75 million in 2010.

If there’s a difference between these two situations, it’s not a big one. Halladay would probably be worth more than $16 million, but I can’t buy into giving up an established big leaguer, like Phil Hughes along with a Jesus Montero, for one year of Halladay.

The odds of Phil Hughes being as good as Halladay are very close to zero, which is where some arguments for making this deal stems from. That’s not the point, though. The point is that having Hughes at a bargain rate for multiple years is better than having Halladay at $16 million for one.

I like to think I have an idea of how Cashman approaches these things (I probably don’t), and I think Cash is on board with what I’m saying here. He showed that in 2007 by passing up a deal with the Twins for Santana, and I fully expect him to show the same philosophy this offseason.

I expect Cashman to be active in trade talks with the Blue Jays, because how could he not be? Halladay is one of the best pitchers in baseball and he’s on the trading block. Cashman wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t inquire.

Expect Cashman to do his due diligence in trade talks with new Blue Jays’ GM Alex Anthopoulos, but when it’s all said and done, I’d be very surprised to see Roy Halladay in pinstripes.

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