Happy Halladays!

Charlie Klein

What a day in Major League Baseball. And not a single pitch was thrown. In what has become a media maelstrom of speculation, Roy Halladay appears to be on the brink of being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for prospects. In a crazier development, Cliff Lee appears to be headed to the Seattle Mariners for prospects to be sent to Toronto and Philadelphia.

The Roy Halladay deal, almost six months in the making, appears to finally be done. Personally, I am at a loss as to what ultimately drove Philadelphia to accede to the Blue Jays' demands, which are in all likelihood Michael Taylor and maybe J.A. Happ. The Mariners are likely sending Phillippe Aumont to Toronto. Aumont was taken 11th overall in the 2007 MLB draft, 6'7" and throws 95 mph fastball. There is speculation that their LF prospect Michael Saunders is involved as well, but there has been little confirmed as to which prospects from any of these teams are going where.

This appears to be a great trade all parties involved. The Phillies finally get the man they've been crushing on for a long time. Halladay will be their ace for the next four years as Utley, Howard, etc. bloom into the primes of their careers. By trading Cliff Lee to the Mariners they will be receiving quality prospects that will ease the loss of players like Michael Taylor and Dominic Brown.

The Mariners end up with a better pitcher in Lee than they would have had they managed to land John Lackey. Lee costs the Mariners $10 million this season and is a free agent at the end of the season. I assume that general manager Jack Zduriencik would not have made this deal without feeling confident of the Mariners ability to lock Lee up to a long term deal.

Toronto does very well considering they had to trade Halladay this offseason and they end up with more than just the two draft picks they would have received from whoever would have signed Halladay next year.

John Lackey, the premier pitcher on the 2009 free agent market, looks to be a dead cert to sign with the Boston Red Sox. The deal is reported to be approximately five years for $85 million, which would pay Lackey $17 million per season. Boston did not top the list of speculated suitors for Lackey, who seemed to be headed to the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, or the Seattle Mariners.

All of the pitchers moving around today will have a profound impact on the 2010 MLB season. The Mariners, if they are able to add a decent bat to their lineup look poised to overtake the Angels in the AL West (speculation: Jason Bay, Luke Scott, Russell Branyan). The Phillies make themselves the favourites to win the National League for a third year in a row. And the Red Sox have made themselves a delicious 1-2-3 in Beckett, Lackey, and Lester, all of whom have won clinching games in a World Series.