The Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays continue to negotiate a deal for right-hander Roy Halladay, but according to Jason Stark of ESPN.com, the Blue Jays have rejected the Phil's latest offer.
Yesterday it was reported that the Blue Jays had submitted a formal proposal to the Phillies, which included young starters J.A. Happ, Kyle Drabek and outfielder Dominic Brown. The Phillies, who have no intention of trading both Happ and Drabek, shot down the deal.
Today the Phillies elected to counter the Blue Jays, submitting a four-for-one deal that didn't include their top-hitting prospect-Brown, or their top-pitching prospect-Drabek. Instead, the Phillies proposed a deal that would have sent Happ, along with young pitcher Carlos Carrasco, outfielder Michael Taylor and shortstop Jason Donald.
Carrasco, Taylor and Donald are all highly regarded prospects within the Phillies organization, and are all currently playing for the Phillies Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley. For a team to offer up four of their better prospects for one player is pretty remarkable, however, the Blue Jays quickly rejected the revised proposal.
Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi has said from day one that if he isn't blow away with an offer he won't deal Halladay. The more and more these negotiations play out the more I'm starting to believe Ricciardi.
The Phillies have seemed like the front-runner over the last few weeks, but it's clear that the two sides are still very far apart. It's very possible that the Phillies have opened the door for another contender to swoop in and grab Halladay, however, maybe it's in the best interest of all the contenders if Halladay just stays in Toronto.