Should Halladay Be a Yankee?

It should not surprise you in the least that the Yankee name is in play for Blue Jays starter Roy Halladay. They have question marks in their starting rotation and well... they are the Yankees... so naturally rumors are flying.

Without a doubt Halladay could have a big time impact for the Yankees; he could have a huge influence on any club really. The Yanks once iron-clad rotation has not quite turned out the way they expected. CC has been solid but spots teams 3-4 runs a game and sure not the pitcher they expected to get when they made him the highest paid in baseball. AJ Burnett is streaky but well he has been his whole career. Wang just flat out sucks, going 1-6 with a 9.64 ERA before going on the DL last week. Joba has been decent but far from the fist pumping wonder boy that used to give Yankee fans wood. And Pettite is unreliable. One good start to go with two bad ones.

So the question becomes what do they give up because Toronto is going to want a significant return and maybe unload an overpaid veteran, Vernon Wells, who somehow fooled baseball into thinking he deserved money to play. You would assume that the Jays would target Jesus Montero and Austin Jackson, the Yankees top two prospects. Montero has all the hitting tools to become an all-star catcher but there are big concerns with his defensive ability and whether or not he can play catcher at the major league level. Jackson is the Yanks top outfield prospect. He is the most athletic player in their system and looks to be shaping up to be an everyday center fielder. The question is where does he fit in? The yanks are high on Gardner and have Swisher signed for a few years. Melkey is also in the mix. 

So Jackson and Montero could be on the block but Toronto would probably ask for Phil Hughes to sweeten the deal. Hughes who has been solid out of the bullpen never measured up the front line starter predictions of just a few years ago. Wang's name could get thrown in their. It is hard to ignore the fact that he won 19 games last season.

So while giving up Montero, Jackson and Hughes (assuming the Jays don't ask for more) would not be breaking the bank it doesn't seem like smartest deal for the Yanks. Halladay, who is 32, has one more year left on his contract and will probably be looking for a 5-6 year deal (worth lots of $$$) at the end of next season. The Yankees are an old, expensive, team as is; would they want to add another aging pitcher to their staff for the next few seasons? If they don't sign Halladay and just let him finish out his contract then they will have given up three of their better young players for just a season and a half of work.

Halladay is a rare talent; Jeter said "he's probably the best starter in baseball."  He may be aging but he can still pitch (he started the all star game last night) and has a CY Young sitting in his closet. For the Yanks it is a matter of win-now or save for later. We all know where the Steinbrenner family sits on this argument but this deal just does not seem worth it Bronx Bombers. Although as is, their 200 million dollar roster can't beat Boston so it's hard to imagine they do not create some headlines.