To Be Clear: Roy Halladay Was Never Up For Grabs
Baseball’s trade deadline came and went Friday without Toronto’s Roy Halladay coming or going. And despite a month of bluster and bombast the Blue Jays are in the same spot they were in before Doc was ever made available for a trade.
What spot? Oh, I dunno. I’d say about 12.5 games off the grid.
So why were the Jays unable to unload a player the other 29 GMs would severe off their non-dominant hand for? Because Toronto’s GM J.P. Ricciardi never really had Halladay up for grabs. No sir, he didn’t.
I’m aware that out of the blue, on July 6, the unloved GM claimed he’d entertain trade offers for Halladay. I’m also aware that this announcement was followed by four weeks of media outlets beating the story – and its every possible scenario – into the ground. And I’m aware how close Doc seemed to leaving. It seemed as if Doc was going to go; as if he had to go. The Phillies, the Rangers, the Red Sox … everyone had a shot, right? They were all so close.
They weren’t.
Obviously, Ricciardi’s definition of “available” doesn’t align with the rest of Earth’s definition of it. When Earth heard “available” and “willing to trade,” it thought Ricciardi meant a reasonable package of lineup contributors and rookie prospects in exchange for one of the league’s best pitchers. What Ricciardi meant was “a team’s entire farm system or … Albert Pujols.”
Had the Cardinals (for instance) offered Pujols for Halladay straight-up in April, Ricciardi would have made that deal. I can’t prove it, but c’mon. Anyone in their right mind would have made that deal … which, I suppose, works against my certainty that Ricciardi would have done it.
My point is that Halladay was just as available for trade in January as he was in July. The difference was perception.
It’s important to remember for future trade deadlines that when a good deal appears out of nowhere, it’s either a) not a good deal or b) not actually appearing. Ricciardi announcing that Halladay had a price tag never meant that it had been discounted.
Remember that in January and next July when this Halladay nonsense starts all over again.
Leave a Reply
