Trade Cliff Lee For Roy Halladay? The Baseball Debate

Roy Halladay has been the talk of the town recently in the baseball world. He’s on everybody’s Christmas list, but only one team will get him.

The Phillies are the top contender to get him, but they will have to sacrifice some talent.

The original thought was that for the Phillies would get him they would need to trade left-hander J.A. Happ, outfield prospect Dominic Brown, and another prospect.

The other thought was that it would be a swap of aces, Cole Hamels and another prospect for Halladay.

Either of those deals I would take in heartbeat. It would give the Phillies two aces in Cliff Lee and Halladay.

But news came out recently that there is a third option, and it is one that I never wanted to think about.

Cliff Lee for Roy Halladay.

To most Phillies fans, it sounds absurd. This is the guy who helped lead them to the World Series. The guy who helped turn a struggling rotation around. The guy who dominated down the stretch.

Many people may oppose this, and many will try to find a way around it. But at this point, it may be the only logical option.

I, and every other Phillies fan, would love to have both, but that may not happen.

The question is, who would you rather have? Lee or Halladay?

If you look at the stats, you’d take Halladay. If you look at recent dominance, you’d take Lee.

I, honestly, would take Halladay.

This is because Halladay has been the best pitcher in baseball since he became a full-time starter in 2002. He is an innings eater and will get a lot of wins. Oh, and he’ll have a low ERA.

Both have a Cy Young Award. Halladay has finished in the top five in voting five times.

Halladay has won 20 games twice, while Lee has won 20 games once.

Based on the last two years’ stats, the one with the better stats is Halladay, but not by much. He has more innings, more strikeouts, and an ERA lower by 10 points.

Another thing that doesn’t factor in is security. Both have one year remaining on their contract. That means that no matter what, next year the Phillies will try to retain their ace pitcher.

Either of the two will help Philadelphia. If there was any other way, then I’d go for it.

But, right now, it looks as though Philadelphia won’t have pocket aces.   

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