traderdave wrote:mstein88 wrote:We all know that Halladay has a no-trade clause and apparently will only consider waiving it for teams that have a chance to win the World Series this year and next, but he has also reportedly informed the Jays that he wants to be traded to a team that plays its spring training in Florida. If this is true, and I believe it is, the ONLY teams that meet both of those qualifications are: the Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and Cardinals. You have to figure that the Cards just blew their wad with Matt Holliday and have neither the prospects nor the financial flexibility to add Halladay. And if you believe the reports that the Jays don't want to trade Halladay within their division (which I do), this means the Phillies are effectively bidding against themselves.
Viewed in this light, the goings-on of the last three days make a lot more sense to me now.
Amaro knows they are the only game in town on Halladay, so there's no need to meet the Jays' first official demand (Drabek, Happ and Brown). Ricciardi knows that the Phillies know that they are the only game in town on Halladay, so they are taking the hard line saying things like any trade for Halladay is going to be "painful" and also making it clear that they don't HAVE to trade him and that it's more likely that they won't.
However -- and here's the key -- if the Jays' ownership really does want to trade him now, this is exactly what Ricciardi SHOULD be doing. Since the Phillies know they aren't bidding against any other teams, he has to scare them into thinking he might just hold onto Halladay and not deal him at all.
So Amaro made an initial offer along the lines of Happ, Carassco, Taylor and Donald. But the key is that he offered only 1 of the 3 guys the Jays want the most (Drabek, Happ and Brown). And so now Ricciardi is playing the game -- leaking stuff to the Olneys, Starks and Heymans of the media saying that the two teams are at an "impasse."
In the meantime, Ricciardi is hoping that one of 2 things happens: Amaro folds, or another team that's not currently in the mix steps up with a huge offer and Halladay agrees to go there.
In reality, what I think will happen is that Ricciardi and Amaro will continue their Angry Italian vs. Hotheaded Latino stare-down for the next 3-4 days, dragging us all along for the heart-wrenching ride. In the end, Amaro will make an offer that includes 2 of Drabek, Happ and Brown, as well as some other prospects, and a deal will be made.
What do you think of this, Werthless?
