Who's ready for a bold move?
Sometimes you have to get bold to win...
...and sometimes you get very bold!
Yesterday, Toronto Blue Jays GM J.P.
Ricciardi made it known that he would "listen" to
conversations about trading ace P Roy
Halladay. Translation:
Halladay is on the block! And he WILL be traded.
Why not to the Giants?
Ricciardi won't trade
Halladay just to trade him, he doesn't need to. Doc is under contract through 2010 with a $14.25 & $15.75 Million price tag over the time period, plus a complete no trade clause.
Ricciardi will need a very good haul to let go of Roy, but teams will line up to the offering table. All biases aside,
Halladay is the best pitcher in baseball...
Before you jump my shit, I didn't say I'd trade
Lincecum for him...and for the record, I'd rather have Timmy. But Doc is the best pitcher currently as he has been consistent at his level for a number of years. I do think Timmy's level is & will match his over time, but we've only had a very short sample size. Still, imagine the rotation...
Lincecum,
Halladay, Cain, Johnson,
Zito... and the Giants are one of the few teams who actually have the
resources, the chance to win, the ability to take on payroll, and the right division/league to match up with the Jays.
The Giants farm system is a deep as it has been in 30 years. The team is winning, therefor making money, and as reported yesterday by
Hank Schulman, the Brass met to discuss finances... or more like adding payroll.
Halladay has the No Trade thing & wants to play for a winner... it's been so long, I almost forgot I was talking about the Giants here... and the kicker, the Jays could trade
Halladay to a place the only have to (possibly) see him once every 3 seasons.
Why, do you ask, should the Giants even consider this given the pitching in the minors & the current staff? Easy, because they can simply be the best team in baseball with the addition of
Halladay. Naysayers would argue that the Giants should target a bat, but what the Giants really need is a superstar bat & one is just not available, so why not build up the current strength even more?
Halladay will command a deal similar, but possibly slightly better than both the
DiamondBacks & Mariners gave up in the Dan
Haren & Erik
Bedard trades recently. Plus compared to what the White
Sox were giving up in the failed Jake
Peavy deal, it makes the Giants seem like they have the perfect pieces. A quick rundown on those trades:
-A's Dan
Haren (+Conor Robertson) to the
DBacks for OF Carlos
Gonsalez, P Brett Anderson, 1B Chris Carter, OF Aaron Cunningham, P Dana
Evaland, P Greg Smith (the
DBacks 1, 3, 7, & 8 ranked prospects)
-Orioles Erik
Bedard to the Mariners for OF Adam Jones, P George
Sherrill, P Chris Tillman, P Cam
Mickolio, & P Tony Butler
-(vetoed deal) Padres Jake
Peavy to the White
Sox for P Aaron
Poreda, P Clayton Richard, P Lance Broadway, & one other unknown Pitcher
Haren was under team control for 3 more season at the time for only $16.25 million total, nearly all of
Halladay's 2010 deal.
Bedard was under team control for 2 more seasons but was still in arbitration. He's earned only $14.75 million over that time period, or
Halladay's salary this season.
Peavy, the better of the three, was to be traded for a lesser haul due to his salary (signed through 2013 for $69 million more)
Based on these deals, the Giants are looking at trading 4-5 players depending on the quality. Neither
Lincecum nor Matt Cain would need to be involved. The Blue Jays reportedly would like a SS & Pitching back, but will take the best they can get. So who then would the Giants have to part with?
For starters, one of the two untouchable pitchers would have to go. That's either Madison
Bumgarner or Tim
Alderson. My guess is
Sabean keeps
Bumgarner, so
Alderson becomes the focal point.
Second, the Jays would want a major league ready arm to possibly replace him, so Jonathan Sanchez is included.
The Jays want a SS, but will take the best they can get. I'm guessing one off the 40 man roster for potential. Probably one, maybe two of SS Brandon Crawford, OF Thomas Neal, 3B Conor Gillespie, 2B Matt Downs, 1B/OF John
Bowker, 3B/1B/DH Jesus Guzman, SS
Emmanual Burriss, or OF Roger
KieschnickLastly, they want another pitcher with potential, but it won't be a top prospect so look at P Kevin
Pucetas, P Scott Barnes, or P Dan
OteroThe Jays obviously see him as a "Type A" free agent after 2010, so they at least want the
equivalent of two first round picks for him. Any combination of these Giants would give them that if it starts with
Alderson & Sanchez.
Halladay for
Alderson, Sanchez, Gillespie, &
Otero or
Alderson, Sanchez, Crawford, Downs, & Barnes
Alderson, Sanchez, Guzman, & Neal
The more I look at it, the better it sounds. The Giants still keep
Bumgarner, Buster
Posey, & Angel
Villalona. They still have depth, they still have trade bait for other pieces, they still have youth & a future...and they would have ONE HELL of a pitching staff.
In case for some reason you don't know
Roy Halladay that well; he's a 32 year old, former Cy Young, 6 time All Star, who dominates in the AL East. In 11 seasons, he has 43
CG's & 12 Shut Outs (19 & 4 since 2007), 220-260 inning pitched/year.
Career: K/9-6.5, K/BB-3.17, BB/9-2.0, HR/9-0.7, WHIP-1.20, ERA+ 132, 141-68 record, ERA- 3.47
2005-2008
64-27, 3.08 ERA in 115 starts, 25 CG, 5
SHO, ERA+ 144, WHIP 1.101, H/9-8.4, HR/9-0.7, BB/9-1.5, K/9-6.3, K/BB-4.21
Here's a look at
Lincecum in his career (since 2007):
34-12, 2.93 ERA in 74 starts, 5 CG, 3
SHO, ERA+ 149, WHIP 1.173, H/9-7.3, HR/9-0.5, BB/9-3.3, K/9-10.1, K/BB-3.11
So why not go bold? The Giants can make a serious run at the World Series title the next two season while not mortgaging the farm. They really wouldn't need to add too much offense if they don't allow any runs...
This year so far, the Giants have recorded 12 team Shut Outs, 10 times they have held teams to 1 run, 13 times to 2 runs, and 8 times to 3 runs. In those 43 games, they are 36-7. Logic says "No Shit Sherlock, if don't don't give up many runs you're gonna win more" but that's the point here.
Halladay would basically replace Sanchez/
Sadowski. In the 15 games, the Giants are 5-10 behind these two & opponents have scored more than 3 runs 8 times, all losses.
In 16 starts this season, Roy
Halladay has only allowed more than 3 runs 4 times. Certainly the difference between them would result in another 4-6 second half wins, or the Wild card race. Then the post season would shape up with Barry
Zito in the bullpen...
Time to get bold!!!
BTW,
Vote for Pablo