Sorry naïve Toronto sports fans — Roy Halladay does not want to re-sign with the Blue Jays.
Halladay wants to win, and Toronto is hardly the place to do that as a baseball player — or any kind of professional athlete, for that matter.
This should be common knowledge. However, last weekend when the Jays’ now permanent president and CEO Paul Beeston told the New York Post that Halladay was “not inclined” to re-sign with Canada’s only major league team, it set off a firestorm of epic proportions amongst Jays fans.
Let’s face reality. Halladay will almost certainly not be on this team past the 2010 season. He may not even be on the roster for opening day in April, marking the first time in seven years the doctor has not pitched that game.
The most likely scenario sees Halladay being traded sometime before the July 2010 trade deadline and the man with the unenviable job of deciding Halladay’s fate is newly minted Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos.
It’s a tough situation for a GM, knowing you’re trading one of the best players in franchise history in a deal that will surely be scrutinized for years to come. Anthoupolos does not want his legacy to be tarnished by a bad trade.
The fear of making a bad deal could be one of the reasons why former Jays GM JP Ricciardi did not pull the trigger on a deal after vigorously shopping Halladay at the July 2009 trade deadline. Ricciardi demanded a high price for Halladay and eventually balked when he was unable to find any colleagues willing to match it.
Now, four months later, Anthoupolos has replaced Ricciardi and the Halladay trade forum has reopened. Here are the teams that have emerged as the front-runners in this winter’s Roy Halladay sweepstakes.

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees

Trading Halladay to an American League East rival would be a nightmare for Jays fans, as they would be forced to watch Halladay decimate Toronto’s lineup three or four times a season. Ricciardi refused to do it at the trade deadline despite reportedly being offered promising young pitchers Clay Buchholz and Justin Masterson plus others from the Red Sox.
Anthopolous, on the other hand, has made it clear he has no problem dealing with teams within the division, and could, if he’s crafty, start a bidding war between the Red Sox and Yankees. Neither team wants to see the other gain the upper hand in the hyper-competitive division by landing the Jays ace.
Masterson is since gone to the Cleveland Indians but the Red Sox could still offer Buchholz as the centre piece in any deal. Meanwhile the Jays would demand either Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain be involved in a deal with the Yankees.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The Angels were in hot pursuit of Halladay at the trade deadline but talks fell apart when Ricciardi demanded shortstop Erick Aybar be included in the deal — a move the Angels refused to make.
Once again, Anthopolous has taken a drastically different stance than his predecessor, insisting Aybar does not have to be part of any package for Halladay, which has brought the Angels back to the table this winter.
Any deal with the Halos would have to involve one of the Angels’ top young pitchers: Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders or Ervin Santana.
Shortstop Maicer Izturis and catcher Mike Napoli would also fit nicely in the holes left in the Jays lineup by the departures of Marco Scutaro and Rod Barajas this winter.

The Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies were the closest team to landing Halladay at the trade deadline, eventually backing down after the price got too high and settling for the considerably cheaper Cliff Lee from Cleveland.
At the deadline Ricciardi was asking for J.A. Happ and Kyle Drabek, the Phillies’ two best pitching prospects, along with highly-touted outfielder Dominic Brown and others. This time around the Phillies certainly won’t be willing to bet the farm on Halladay after sending four prospects to the Indians for Lee.

The Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers were also involved in trade talks with the Jays at the deadline in July, however they never pursued Halladay as vigorously as the Phillies or Angels. They aren’t the likeliest destination for the right-hander, but they do offer the most viable options to help the Jays right now.
Young starting pitcher Chad Billingsley would be the centrepiece of any package heading to Toronto, while James Loney and Canadian Russell Martin would help fill the Jays holes at first base and catcher.

The Chicago Cubs

Chicago’s interest in Halladay came out of left field last week when mlb.com reported the Cubs were in talks with the Jays. The Cubs already boast a strong rotation with Ted Lilly, Carlos Zambrano and Canadian Ryan Dempster. The addition of Halladay could give them one of the strongest staffs in the National League.
Regardless, Chicago seems to be an unlikely destination for Halladay, as the Cubs are in no shape financially to take on his $15.75 million contract and they seem unwilling to move blue chip shortstop prospect Starlin Castro, who the Jays would expect in return.