Buzz: Gonzalez & Halladay will NOT be Easy
The Boston Globe quotes Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos as saying he has no issue making a trade with a team in his division.
“We’re trying to worry about the Toronto Blue Jays and what makes us a better team,” Anthopoulos said.
Original Post, 10:17 am:
Jon Heyman of SI.com quotes a person with the Padres as saying, though he wouldn’t totally rule out Omar Minaya’s chances of trading for 1B Adrian Gonzalez, “it wouldn’t be easy.”
…gonzalez will cost a fortune… like i said last week, his price will be bid up significantly because of his low salary, and so a small-market teams like the Marlins and Rays can be in on him, in addition to big-market teams like the Mets and Red Sox… at minimum, a team the Marlins or Mariners can get him for two full seasons at a reasonable price, and not be forced to consider a contract extension until two off seasons from now…
Gonzalez hit .277 with 40 home runs and 99 RBI for a Padres last season, 28 of which were hit away from Petco Park.
Similarly, in Newsday, Ken Davidoff writes:
“The Mets believe that they at least have a chance to acquire Roy Halladay, and that’s why Minaya and his lieutenants intended to communicate with the Blue Jays here at the general managers’ meetings.”
Halladay will earn $15 million next season, after which he will be a free agent, likely seeking a six– or seven-year contract.
Davidoff explains why today’s Halladay situation is very similar to Minnesota’s situation two years ago with Johan Santana, who ended up being traded to the Mets, where he signed a six-year extension.
“Could deja vu occur?” Davidoff asks. “On the surface, it appears unlikely. But the Blue Jays could prefer to deal Halladay out of the American League East, taking the Yankees and Red Sox out of the mix.”
In a report for Yahoo! Sports, Tim Brown lists the Mets among nine teams who expressed interest in Halladay before last year’s Trade Deadline in July, writing, “The Jays interest was in OF Fernando Martinez, SS Ruben Tejada and pitchers Jonathan Niese and Bobby Parnell.”
According to Brown, “The two sides never came close.”
…the way i see it, the Mets, Phillies and Angels are the only realistic players for halladay… the buzz in Toronto suggests the Yankees are unwilling to give up the necessary young talent to get halladay, because, frankly, they don’t feel they have to… regardless, i just find it hard to believe the Jays would send halladay to one of their two biggest hurdles in the AL East, with whom halladay would probably sign a long-term extension… and that’s the thing, he’s going to want an extension… and, like with santana, i bet teams are unwilling to give up their top young talent if they do not believe they can keep halladay beyond next season… so, the question could be: who among the Phillies, Angels and Mets will have enough prospects to entice Toronto, but also will spend big money and commit long term to a guy who will pitch the bulk of his next contract in his late 30s…
By the way, Davidoff, check out his blog post, here, in which he looks in to Minaya’s ability to read the marketplace.
