The Phillies look to be awfully close to finally landing Blue Jays right-hander Roy Halladay. But the cost appears to be steep.
Nothing is final yet, but the Phillies will apparently be sending postseason hero Cliff Lee plus possibly prospects to the Seattle Mariners, for additional prospects to be flipped to Toronto. All very confusing, tons of moving parts, so I’m reluctant to post that this is a done deal.
Details notwithstanding, it appears that Roy Halladay will be a Phillie in 2010, and probably beyond… and Cliff Lee won’t be.
The good and bad of this trade will rest in how much money changes hands, and which prospects go where. The devil is absolutely in the details. Check back for analysis as this story progresses.
[9:15 PM UPDATE from Jayson Stark on ESPNews]:
His understanding of the deal:
Phillies send Lee, Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor and Travis D'Arnaud; get Roy Halladay and Phillippe Aumont. Yuck.
[5:45 UPDATE from Jayson Stark, who says the deal is close, but not final]:
As part of the deal, Halladay would agree to a three-year extension through 2013, with a vesting option that could lengthen the deal by another year or two, one source said. The extension is expected to guarantee Halladay in the neighborhood of $60 million, plus the $15.75 million he would make in 2010, the final year of his current contract.
According to a source who spoke with two teams involved in the trade, Toronto would get highly regarded Mariners pitching prospect Phillippe Aumont, Phillies catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud and another Phillies prospect in exchange for Halladay. Indications are that the Phillies have balked at Toronto's repeated requests for outfielder Domonic Brown, and the Phillies are offering highly touted outfielder Michael Taylor instead.
Seattle would also send two prospects to Philadelphia in exchange for Lee, who is a year away from free agency.
As of late Monday afternoon, the extension had not been agreed upon. And the Blue Jays and Phillies were still haggling over the final prospect. In addition, Phillies doctors would have to sign off on Halladay's physical.