Don't trade Roy Halladay, Blue Jays.
Not for the sun, the moon, and half the stars.
Maybe to the Yankees if they offer you CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes. Or for an equivalent offer from another team. But not otherwise, because he is the "sine qua non" (without which not) of your playoff chances.
I have been one of the people that believes your team has a legitimate shot at the playoffs, if not this year, certainly next. You got off to a good start, then faltered, mainly against (weaker) National League teams. A better "draw" next year might see you through.
But I also believe that any playoff-bound team needs at least one "foundation" player; the kind of player that a good team can't do without. Because the rest of the team is built around him.
Your foundation player, Toronto, for this decade at least, is Roy Halladay.
Mike Kent, a fellow Bleacher Report writer hinted at as much, when he named Halladay one of the top 10 starters of the first half, in the company of Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals, Mark Buehrle of the White Sox, and Edwin Jackson of the Tigers, (the remainder were National Leaguers).
Halladay is your answer to these pitchers. Your second best pitcher, Scott Richmond, is quite a ways down the list, neck and neck with your former AJ Burnett.
I (a former Pittsburgher) took an interest in your team when your management had the perspicacity to trade for the Pirates' first or second least favorite player, Jose Bautista.
He's a stellar "utility" man with a .396 OBP,your highest, despite his unprepossessing .256 batting average.
Similarly smart trades (and signings) brought you Marco Scutaro, Kevin Millar (who's making Lyle Overbay look good by facing the pitchers Overbay doesn't want to) and Rod Barajas.
Adding these to your "core" of Overbay, Aaron Hill, Scott Rolen, Adam Lind, Vernon Wells, and Alex Rios gives you a strong team. But only if you have pitching to go along with it.
The Pirates went the opposite way. They traded their foundation player, Jason Bay, for a Bautista replacement they shouldn't have needed (Andy LaRoche), and a "pale" version of a Bay "replacement" (Brandon Moss), plus two eminently forgettable pitching prospects.
In fact, Bay is so valuable, I suggested in an earlier post that you sign him in order to round out your lineup, if he were at all available when his contract expires at the end of this year. Then you'd have two "foundation" players.
On the other hand, if you do trade Halladay, your "birthright," for a "mess of pottage" like the Pirates did with Bay, you might not hear from me again. Because I'll probably be looking for another team to "adopt."
Your team won't be nearly as interesting to follow without Halladay.
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