While the Phillies have done next to no actual negotiating with Lee, they heard enough rumblings that Lee wanted a CC Sabathia-type contract that they believed it would take a five-year or six-year deal to keep the 31-year-old left-hander.
Halladay, on the other hand, was willing to talk about a shorter guarantee if it meant going to the Phillies, a team with a spring training site minutes away from his home in Florida.
The Phillies could have held on to Lee and taken a chance that they could sign one of the two pitchers as a free agent next winter. But they were apparently concerned there would be a massive bidding war over Halladay and Lee that would price them both out of their range.
Before turning to Seattle, multiple sources say, the Phillies first attempted to complete a two-team deal with Toronto alone for Halladay. However, the Phillies refused -- as they had last summer -- to include their top pitching prospect, Kyle Drabek, in that trade. So they began looking for another team that could help them meet the Blue Jays' price.
Seattle became an attractive match because of Aumont, the Mariners' No. 1 pick in 2007 and a native of Quebec.
The Phillies also had to clear payroll space to accommodate the addition of Halladay. They attempted to do that by trading away Blanton, but found they couldn't get enough back to enable them to make a Halladay deal.
Stark
