Roy Halladay

The baseball world is abuzz tonight with talk of the apparently imminent blockbuster trade between the Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners. Reportedly, the deal is all but done, and it will include Toronto ace Roy Halladay, as well as Phillies star left-handed pitcher Cliff Lee, who will go to Seattle in the deal.

It took five months longer than we expected, but Roy Halladay is a Philadelphia Phillie.

According to Jon Heyman, the Phillies have agreed to a three-team trade with the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners that will send Halladay to Philadelphia, Cliff Lee to Seattle, and a package of prospects from the Phillies and M's to the Blue Jays.

Halladay, 32, will sign a contract extension with Philadelphia to complete the blockbuster.

It's been a busy Monday with pitchers moving around the league.

Earlier this afternoon, it was reported that the Red Sox and John Lackey agreed to a five year deal worth around $85 million dollars.

Lackey was in negotiations with teams like the Yankees, Mets, Mariners, and Rangers among others, but now, he lands in Boston.

It's a solid move for the Red Sox, who get a top pitcher and a playoff-experienced pitcher to add to a rotation with Josh Beckett and Jon Lester at the top of it already. Lackey probably will be the number two pitcher in that rotation.

So far this MLB off-season, the teams in New York have been very busy.  The Yankees' move this week may have been the biggest.

Last year, the Phillies had a battle for the fifth starter spot. It was mainly between Chan Ho Park, JA Happ, Kyle Kendrick, and Carlos Carrasco.

Well things have changed.

There is still a battle for the fifth spot in the rotation, but it has different contenders. Chan Ho Park is a free agent, Carrasco is with the Indians, and Happ is in the rotation.

So far the Phils rotation is Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, JA Happ, and Joe Blanton.

Last year J.J. Putz was traded, and Francisco Rodriguez was signed immediately. So because of last year's big moves during the winter meetings, expectations coming heading into Monday were high, and luckily the GMs delivered some early Christmas gifts.

Some players were given more than we anticipated, while the big names remained on the board as expected. There were a few dozen signings, but mostly minor names who will be seen in the minor leagues this year.

The best moves are sometimes the ones you don't make. I my opinion, one of the good no-moves of Yankees GM Brian Cashman was not trading for Johan Santana (and I think highly of Johan Santana, one of the best there is).

Likewise, I hope the Yankees only show interest in Halladay in order to drive the price up for BoSox. To land him they would first have to let go one of the young pitchers in which they still have high expectations—Joba Chamerblain or Phil Hughes—and at least one of the top prospects, Jesus Montero or Austin Jackson.

It appears the Toronto Blue Jays have two options for Roy Halladay and the 2010 season. Get a deal done before Spring Training ends or face the consequences of losing their ace pitcher to free agency.

According to Jeff Berry, one of Halladay’s representatives, if Halladay reports to Spring Training, all bets are off.

“One thing is certain—once Roy reports to Spring Training as a member of the Blue Jays, from that point forward he will not approve or even discuss any potential trade scenario,”

We're right in the thick of Major League Baseball's free agency period. Already John Grabow has stolen a heavy contract from the Cubs, Billy Wagner will join his third National League East team in Atlanta, and Placido Polanco rejoins the Phillies after a stint in Detroit, Cleveland, and Tampa, as well as the White Sox and Royals have already swapped some contracts Now comes the fun part.

Roy Halladay will never don a Blue Jays jersey again. As a fan base, we know that much. What we don't know is who will cowboy up and give up the necessary talent to land this ace. 

Many are speculating that the Halladay sweepstakes will eventually turn into a classic Red Sox versus Yankees bidding war. It's hard to argue. Last offseason, the boys in blue managed to spend $441 million for five players! That figure was over two times what the rest of the American League spent altogether.