It’s a bittersweet day in Jays land to say the least. The best pitcher to ever put on a Jays jersey — yes, he’s better than Clemons — has moved on to greener pastures where he’ll have a shot at a world series championship. Certainly Roy Halladay will be missed — and not just for the excellent pitching performance he gave every five days.

Halladay makes a team’s bullpen better too. More often than not he goes deep into games — throwing heat well into the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. Knowing your bullpen doesn’t have to pitch every fifth day is extremely valuable. And it doesn’t stop there.

Doc is far more than just a great pitcher — his impact reverberates to all corners of the clubhouse. His professionalism, work ethic and tact not only make him a great athlete — it makes those around him elevate their games too. He is the quintessential selfless team player. A star athlete who — with the exception of maybe Steve Nash — behaves like no other star athlete does. He was an absolute work horse for the Jays and never once complained about team mates, the coaching staff or management.

I suspect most Phillies fans aren’t even aware yet of the gem they just acquired. He’s truly one of a kind.

Anyway, the trade.

The jays get three very good prospects out of the deal, which is the best they could have hoped for. Any package from the Yankees or the Red Sox was not going to match this one.

In starting pitcher Kyle Drabek the Jays have a possible future ace, although he will most likely end up as a number two starter in the rotation. Worst case scenario, he’s a third starter, which is pretty good for a worst case scenario. In AA last season he averaged almost a strikeout per inning, while walking just 3 batters for every 9 innings he pitched. Those ratios are very impressive.

Drabek joins a very, very young Blue Jays pitching staff that should come to fruition in a couple years with Ricky Romero, Brett Cecil, Mark Rzepczynski and Drabek leading the way. Don’t forget about Dustin McGowan, Brad Mills, David Purcey, Robert Ray, Jesse Litsch and Shaun Marcum either. That’s a pretty good crop of young hurlers.

As for the corner infielder Brett Wallace — he can absolutely rake. He’s a pure left-handed hitter who also happens to hit very, very well against left-handed pitching. He’s uber-disciplined at the plate and not afraid to wait deep into counts for his pitch. Wallace is going to be a potent major league power hitter very soon and if Lyle Overbay is sent packing sometime this off season, he could see regular starts at first base for the Jays as soon as next year.

Catcher Travis d’Arnaud is the wild card in the deal. He’s young —just 20 years old — and depending on how he develops over the next two or three years he could grow into a very good major league catcher. Of course, he could end up a bust as well. The biggest weapon he brings to the table is his arm — he threw out almost 25% of base runners last year which is a very good number. If he can develop his bat, that’s simply a bonus for the Jays.

Generally, I like the deal — it’s simply a matter of quality over quantity. Instead of 4 or 5 mediocre, mid-range players, the Jays get three former first round picks and two definite blue-chippers in Drabek and Wallace. Of course you’re never satisfied when you’re trading away the best pitcher in baseball, however there’s no reason for Jays fans to be upset with this return.

What I don’t like about the trade is how Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos flipped OF Michael Taylor to the Oakland A’s for Wallace. The argument can be made that Wallace will be a marginally better hitter, however there is no comparing the athleticism of the two players. Taylor not only gives you an excellent bat, but he’s a danger on the base paths as well. I’d much rather have Taylor —who has committed just 4 errors in his last 200 games —patrolling left field and Adam Lind at first base, rather than Lind in left field and Wallace at first base. Taylor would have given the Jays the speedy, heavy-hitting outfielder they were supposed to have in Alex Rios. If I’m Anthopoulos, I don’t mind sacrificing a couple extra home runs from Wallace for a multi-tool talent.