According to a report in the LA Times, the Angels could be the first team ready to make a huge offer to the Toronto Blue Jays for ace Roy Halladay.
As we reported Monday Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi announced publicly for the first time that he will in fact listen to offers for Roy Halladay, and it appears that teams are lining up quickly.
It's believed that if the Angles were to put together a package for Halladay it would be enormous consisting of something like, pitcher Jered Weaver, a top pitching prospect such as Trevor Reckling or Jordan Walden, top hitting prospect Brandon Wood and a young big leaguer such as Erick Aybar or Howie Kendrick.
On the surface that is a ton of prospects to give up, and if the deal was to look something like that it's hard to imagine that Angels GM Tony Reagins would be able to pull the trigger; however, Ricciardi has made it clear that it will take a lot to get Halladay.
While yesterday's revelation was news to the public, it appears the Angels have been aware that Halladay was available for some time now.
Here is what Angels manager Mike Scioscia had to say Tuesday about Halladay.
"Tony has talked to a lot of clubs (referring to Angels GM Tony Reagins), and he's talked to Toronto, Obviously, [Halladay] is a name that piques the interest of everyone in baseball."
"It's tough to make a deal for pitching because it's such a valuable commodity, If you're trying to acquire it, then you better have a king's ransom to get it because good pitching is as tight as it's ever been right now."
Halladay, 32, is under contract through 2010 and is scheduled to make $14.25 million this year and $15.75 million next season. More importantly though Halladay has a full no-trade clause, so he would have to approve any deal the Blue Jays made.
Most likely this deal will never happen, like I said I can't imagine the Angels giving up that many players just to get Halladay. But I'm still not convinced that there is not one team out their not willing to pony up the ransom to get him. I'm not sure yet who it's going to be, but I just think this may be a one time shot to get Halladay, and If he remains with the team it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Blue Jays contend next year and Halladay is no longer available. Halladay is just too valuable and there are too many teams that he could make a HUGE impact on. A team like Milwaukee for instance they have a ton of young prospects, and if they were willing to give up a lot for a rental in Sabathia, why not give up a lot for Halladay. I guess for now we're all going to have to sit in anticipation and see how this plays out. Either way this is the best trade juice of the season so far.