It’s O-Phil-cial: Roy Halladay Now a Philadelphia Philly

It was a sad day for Toronto Blue Jays fans—for the past five months, we had been expecting this day to come, but I don’t think any of us could have prepared ourselves for the heartache that came along with letting go of Roy Halladay.

After watching today’s press conference, there is reason to believe there is a lot of hope for this franchise moving forward. AA kept a very positive tone this afternoon and did a good job of providing the answers that everyone was looking for.

One phrase that Anthopoulos used quite frequently was “young, controllable players.”

Obviously, this is what the Blue Jays were seeking, and is the reason why they didn’t go for a deal with the Los Angeles Angels involving players like Eric Aybar and Mike Napoli.

While being good players, they could either potentially walk in just a few seasons or command quite hefty contracts.

Also, by trading for players with major league experience, you already have a relatively good idea of what their ceiling is and what to expect from them in the future. Whereas with highly-touted prospects, their potential is nearly unlimited.

It’s refreshing to see a general manager who understands the value in having a player under team control for six seasons, rather than a free agent who can command colossal amounts of money and just walk away at the end of their contract.

Expectations will be undoubtedly high on the players the Blue Jays received in return: Kyle Drabek, Brett Wallace, and Travis D’Arnaud.

I don’t think we should bank on any of these guys being the next Roy Halladay, however there is a great deal of potential and promise in each of them.

Even if just one of them turns out of be a success, the Roy Halladay trade would have been all worth it.

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