Halladay Will Not Re-Sign With Toronto

ESPN.com reports that Roy Halladay will not re-sign with the Toronto Blue Jays after his contract expires at the end of the 2010 season assuming that he is still a Blue Jay for this coming season.

Toronto went public during the summer that they would listen to offers for the right-handed pitcher, and it ultimately got to a point to no return for the Blue Jays.

Halladay wants to play for a winner, and that’s not Toronto. At this point in his career, he’s made enough money. Every player’s goal is to win a World Series, and Halladay knows that won’t happen with the Jays.

He’s not the kind of guy that would use the media to help him get out of a bad situation. Throughout the craziness that was July, Halladay never once said that he wanted to be traded, or that he wanted out of Toronto.

Instead, Halladay said all the right things, but if you can read body language, it shouted “get me out of here”. After the trade deadline past and he was still a Jay, you could see the disappointment in his face.

Toronto can no longer salvage the situation, they have to get something for the six-time All-Star and 2003 A.L. Cy Young award winner. He’s too good to let go without receiving something other than a draft pick.

Former Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi failed to find a proposal that floated his boat, and it cost him his job among other reasons like signing Vernon Wells and Alex Rios to terrible extensions.

In case you haven’t realized with the multiple rumors thus far into the off-season, Toronto is desperate to trade Halladay. Why else would they say that they would trade him to Boston or New York?

And while thinking about it, why would they call the Chicago Cubs, who have never really been linked to Halladay before, to seek their interest. The Jays are said to be talking to the Dodgers to boot.

Yesterday, I wrote that the Phillies should jump back into the Doc Halladay sweepstakes stating that they have the assets, drive, and financial flexibility to do so.

Despite having over $100-million committed to 12 players next season, the Phils have no financial restraints from the ownership. They’ll spend money if they see it as a way of making the team better.

That may surprise you depending on if you believed that a few years ago, David Montgomery was unwilling to spend money for big-name players, but that’s this new era of baseball in Philadelphia.

Winning a World Series in 2008 opened the eyes of Montgomery, showing him that spending money to go for the crown every year will lead to more money made from attendance and merchandise.

The prospective of making it to the dance three years in a row, and becoming a dynasty in the process, is something that has never been a reality with the Phillies in their history.

Acquiring Halladay will not be as hard as it was during the regular season as the asking price will not be as high, and if it is, look for Toronto to screw the pooch once again with the handling of Halladay.

At this point in time, they have to get one top prospect, or a Major League ready player in return for Doc. In July, they could have got a high return, now they could still get one, but it seems unrealistic.

Look at the Twins a few years ago, and how they handled trading Johan Santana. They didn’t ship him at the deadline when they could’ve got a big package, but waited until the winter, and got nothing.

Toronto already failed to get the most they can get for him since they didn’t trade him at the deadline, but now they have a chance to redeem themselves while getting a top prospect.

The Jays have no leverage, however, so finding a partner who is willing to give them a blue-chip prospect or a ML-ready player like J.A. Happ, who they could still realistically get if they were to trade with the Phils.

Ruben Amaro Jr. doesn’t have starting pitching as a top priority this winter as they have to find a new third baseman, restructure the bullpen, and strengthen a crappy bench.

However, if Toronto came calling offering Halladay for Happ, and two mid-level prospects, it’s hard to believe that Amaro wouldn’t pull the trigger.

Come to think of it, it’ll cost more than Happ and mid-level prospects to get Halladay. The Yankees or Red Sox will probably get him by trading Joba Chamberlin or Clay Buccholz.

For more Phillies coverage, please go to my blog: Phillies Phandom

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com