A Halladay in Boston?
The NY Daily News is reporting that the Red Sox are making a strong push to acquire Toronto's Roy Halladay. This would be a great acquisition for Boston, but is it the best way to upgrade the pitching staff?
For starters, it might take a package of Clay Buchholz, Casey Kelly and another 1-2 prospects (and maybe Daniel Bard) to make the move (I'm not here to suggest the above is the necessary package of players, just trying to introduce a concept). Then, once here, Halladay would require an extension, 5 years at between $80mm or $90mm ($16m - $18mm per year) sounds about right.
Or perhaps the Red Sox just go out and sign John Lackey. Lackey isn't as good as Halladay, but he also wouldn't cost as much and still provide a solid #2 pitcher. Consider, signing Halladay would cost lots of money and lots of talent. Signing Lackey would cost less money and only a 1st round pick in the 2010 draft.
You tell me, assuming both moves prove possible, which is the best approach?
Halladay is awfully tempting but would probably negate any possible offensive upgrade using prospects (names like Adrian Gonzalez and Miguel Cabrera have been mentioned). In addition, whether or not the Red Sox re-sign Jason Bay will play into this as well.
To me, if the Red Sox can re-sign Bay, I'd make the Halladay move. Jon Lester, Roy Halladay, Josh Beckett would be a compelling 1-2-3, wouldn't it? If they cannot sign Bay or Matt Holliday, I think the focus needs to be a trade to upgrade the offense.
In an ideal world, I'd see the Red Sox re-sign Bay, trade for an offensive upgrade at shortstop or the corning infield and get Halladay. That would make this a great off-season for Boston, but I'm not sure the minor league system has enough ammunition to get all of that done.
As we approach and enter the Winter Meetings (Dec 7-10), we should start getting some clarity on what the Red Sox will look like in 2010.
Comments
Good comments. Red Sox are not likely to go overboard for any acquisition. I think Buchholz has a Cy Young in his future, however, would consider trading him, but not including any other major prospect like Bard or Kelley. The goal is to have a realistic shot at the playoffs every season and therefore the WS and not to mortgage the future by giving away the farm system. We know this approach works better than that of our chief competitor. I know some Red Sox fans will disagree with me, but fans should not forget how competitive the Red Sox have been during this decade.
Posted by: pudgefick | November 26, 2009 06:21 AM |
Pudgefick, no kidding, a clean-out of the minors might make this team better in the short term, but could stunt their future prospects of winning.
The Red Sox have been ultra competitive and it goes back to what the new ownership group and Theo Epstein said way back, that they wanted to build the Red Sox into a scouting and development machine.
I can see them focusing on 1 major deal, but 2, my ideal situation above, would be tough. Although if giving up prospects for AGonzalez or MCabrera were the case, those 2 guys are young enough to almost still be considered prospects themselves (Cabrera 26, AGonz 27).
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November 26, 2009 08:37 AM
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