Trading Doc

It's finally here. JP Ricciardi's self-imposed deadline is today and so far nothing concrete to report on. Doc is slated to start tomorrow in Seattle and the Phillies are still balking at the Jays trade offer. It seems as though JP won't consider trading with anyone else because he views the Happ/Drabek offer as the best he could possibly get. Once again, another wrong move from the Jays GM.

This whole process has made Ricciardi look bad... at least in the eyes of Jays fans. From the outset, you knew he wouldn't come out looking like the hero who traded Roy Halladay while infusing a below average farm system with top prospects. The most dumbfounding move might be publicly saying Doc told the team he'd test the free agent waters in 2010. If the Phillies knew they had a shot at signing Doc to an extension before free agency, I think getting rid of Happ and Drabek would be a little less painful.

Nonetheless, we're left with just a couple of teams left in the race for the workhorse: the Phillies, Red Sox and Angels. The Dodgers aren't out of the race but don't have a solid package in place as of yet.

We all know about the Phillies package. They want to give up only one of Happ/Drabek, Carlos Carrasco, Luke Donald and Michael Taylor. The latter 3 are lower tier prospects and project as average major leaguers. The Jays want JA Happ along with Kyle Drabek and top prospect Dominic Brown. JP has not backed off this package, but in my opinion he could get a comparable one elsewhere...

The Red Sox have made a formal offer of Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden and top outfield prospect Ryan Westmoreland according to a report on Yahoo Sports. Buchholz is major league ready and projects to be a future ace. The combination of Buchholz and Bowden are better than Happ/Drabek in my opinion. Drabek also had Tommy John Surgery just 2 years ago so he's far from a sure thing. Westmoreland is only 19 and if the Jays can move Vernon in the next couple of years, he'd be the starting LF/RF depending on where the Jays feel comfortable with Travis Snider.

Decision: Because the Red Sox must "pay a premium", I'd ask for the hard-throwing Daniel Bard instead of Bowden. The Jays have also asked for Jed Lowrie in earlier discussions, who would easily start next year once Scutaro leaves (either at the deadline or in the offseason). Don't be surprised if JP actually trades Doc to his hometown team.

The Angels have offered Joe Saunders, Brandon Wood, Erick Aybar and a lower level prospect. While the trade would give Toronto options on the left side of its infield, Saunders has never really been a pitcher I've liked. This year his ERA stands in the mid 4's.

Decision: It's a decent offer but I'd say the Angels are a long shot to get Halladay. If they replaced Saunders with Jered Weaver and added a couple of higher level prospects (Sean Rodriguez) the Jays might contemplate it. But I'd say the Angels end up with Cliff Lee instead.

Finally, the team I'd like to see Doc get traded to would be the LA Dodgers. Not only are they my second favourite team, but they have great young players that the Jays could build around. The problem is, JP might be getting a bit greedy as he has asked for both Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp with prospects for Roy. If the Dodgers were to make a run for Halladay, rumours have suggested that it be Chad Billingsley who the Dodgers would part with and anyone else off their major league roster would be untouchable.

Decision: Getting a pitcher like Billingsley or Kershaw would almost be a wash for Doc. Both are very talented and are proven big league starters. Heck, I would probably take lower prospects with either and make a trade. Kershaw is only 22 and barring injury problems could be the best pitcher of the next decade. Billingsley is a bit older but he'd contribute right away and give the 2010 rotation a dangerous look. But the fact that the Dodgers have the NL West in total control make them longshots to make a splash for Lee or Halladay.

Prediction: JP hasn't made one substantially great decision in his 8 years here other than resigning Doc a couple of years back. So I'm going to say this last month was just a waste of time and we'll be seeing Doc in a Jays uniform for another 1.5 years... That, or he'll panic and give in to the Phillies demands and screw this organization for another 8 years.

DD

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