MLB.com reports that J.P. Ricciardi and the Toronto Blue Jays are trying to figure out what to do now that Cliff Lee has been traded to the Phillies. Many of the rumors surrounding the Jays' Roy Halladay had centered around the Phillies, and the right-handed Halladay might have been a better fit for the Phillies' lefty-heavy rotation than the left-handed Lee, but the Jays and Phillies couldn't agree on what package of players the Jays would receive. Ricciardi now suggests it's likely that the Jays will keep Halladay. Ordinarily I might be inclined to read that as a negotiating ploy, but with Philadelphia out of the running, it may well be true.
"All the teams we've been talking to, we've looked at them as potential matches," Ricciardi said. "But, once again, we said from the beginning that we'd have to be moved to move the player. At this point, we haven't been moved"...
On Friday, following his most recent start in Toronto, Halladay said he didn't believe he was going to be traded this month. Throughout the past three weeks, Ricciardi has voiced that same opinion. On Wednesday, after learning that Lee had been dealt to Philadelphia, Ricciardi again said that his gut feeling was that Halladay would remain with the Jays.
"Yeah," Ricciardi said. "Look, we said in the beginning we'd listen. We have listened. We said we'd have to be wowed to move Doc. We haven't been wowed."