One Fan’s Opinion: The Yankees Should NOT Trade For Roy Halladay
July 30, 2009 · Mike Salvatore · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Roy Halladay is 11-4 this year with 128 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.68.
The New York Yankees currently sit in first place in the AL East with a record of 62-39 and a 3 1/2 game lead over the Boston Red Sox.
This sounds like a match made in heaven right? Well I’m here to tell you that I DO NOT want Roy Halladay.
I am a huge Yankee fan, and Roy Halladay is a stud pitcher. How you may ask is it that I do not want the Yankees to trade for this perennial all star? There are a couple of personal reasons.
Reason 1: It would deplete the farm system
Time to face facts here, the only way teams win championships anymore is by building a solid core through drafts and shrewed trades. We saw it with the Yankees and Braves in the 1990s and we have seen it with the Red Sox, Phillies, Marlins, and Rays this decade.
Since the last time the Yankees won the World Series back in 2000, they have thrown money at almost every big named free agent and not much as come of it. Yes I did love the Moose signing as well as the Sabathia and Tex signings this past winter, but its time to let the kids get some playing time.
Hell if you take a look the Yankees have a very good farm system. They have already had contributions this season from guys like Ramiro Pena and Fransico Cervelli. Also don’t forget that Melky, Gardner, Cano, Hughes, and Joba are also all recent products of the Yankee minor league system.
In order to get Halladay to get traded into the division it would take a motherload of prospects; namely Austin Jackson, Jesus Montero, Melky or Gardner and probably Joba or Hughes. I personally do not think thats worth 1 1/2 years of Halladay. Yes the rotation of Halladay, Sabathia, and Burnett would be sick, but I would rather compete for the long term, not the short term.
Reason 2: The Yankees are hitting their stride right now
The Yankees are rolling right now. Why mess up the team dynamic now. This is not to say that Halladay is a club house cancer or anything, but this group seems to really be thriving together. Everyone seems to know what their role is with the team and they enjoy playing with one another.
By bringing in Halladay you risk messing up the mojo that the team has built since the All Star break. It brings an extra amount of pressure on the team to win, and to be fair there is already enough pressure on the team to win based on how much they spent last offseason.
Reason 3: It would be like fielding a fantasy baseball team every night
This is my biggest problem with the Yankees pursuing Halladay. They spent almost half a billon dollars on Mark Texiera, CC Sabathia, and A.J. Burnett and by going after Halladay; that is essentially saying that STILL wasn’t enough.
Yes they did cut a good amount of payroll, they actually have a payroll around $180 million which is far less then last year. However, I’m beginning to find it difficult to root for a team that has an all star at almost every position. Yes a good portion of those guys (Jeter, Posada, Mo, Pettite, Cano) are homegrown guys, but we keep spending money like its Monopoly Money.
Greed is good, excess is bad. You can’t just throw money and make the problem go away. By adding Halladay the Yankees would be guilty of what everyone accuses of them, essentially being mercenaries.
Besides they should save their money for 2010 when a certain catcher from the Twins becomes a free agent….
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