MLB Trade Rumors: Roy Halladay to the Dodgers for Chad Billingsley??

by Ray Guilfoyle on Nov 19, 2009 2:15 PM EST in Baseball

The Dodgers were rumored to be in on the Roy Halladay trade talks last July, but ended up bolstering their bullpen instead by trading for George Sherrill. Now comes this tweet from Bob Nightengale from the USA Today:

#mlb The Dodgers badly need an ace and are focusing on Blue Jay ace Roy Halladay. The Dodgers would have to give up Billingsley and others.

The Dodgers do need an ace pitcher for sure. They need one to get past the NLCS in 2010, should they get there again. But, should the Dodgers give up a cheap starting pitcher with ace potential, along with prospects, for one year, presumably, of Roy Halladay?

I am not convinced Billz needs to be included in the deal. The Phillies gave up 4 minor league prospects for a year and a half of Cliff Lee. Why would the Dodgers give up Billz AND prospects?

Poll

Will the Dodgers need to give up Chad Billingsley in a deal for Roy Halladay?

No, a package or prospects should be enough.

255 votes

Yes, the Dodgers prospects aren't as good as prospects from other teams competing for Halladay's services.

336 votes

591 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 6 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

Dodgers

Manny has, what, one year remaining on his contract? Once that astronomical tab is cleared, it’s foreseeable that they could sign Halladay to a two-year extension I suppose.

I’m not so sure that if I were the Dodgers, as you said, I would be giving up much more than solely Billingsley. It seems it’ll depend on just how they project him to top out before they make that decision.

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by Bryan Everson (The Royalty of Roto) on Nov 19, 2009 5:06 PM EST reply actions

"The Dodgers do need an ace pitcher for sure. "...

Which is why they have Clayton Kershaw. His FIP, WHIP, BAA, K/9 are all better than Cliff Lee’s (though that BB/9 discrepancy is a very real and frightening thing). The Dodgers also came into the 2009 playoffs with an ineffective Billingsley and a just-healed Kuroda. Billingsley, for all his faults in the second half of the year, still posted a top 35 FIP and top 20 K/9 for full-time starters. Kuroda has also shown that, while not a dominant #1 guy, can still be an effective #2. Next year, who knows what will happen, but perhaps one of them will actually be ready for the playoffs.

An ace would be nice, no doubt about that. However, when Billingsley is effective, he can be a top 20 SP. Why would the Dodgers give that and more up to get a one-year upgrade, especially when their core is still team-controlled for 2-4 years.

Also, could you imagine a deal of Carlos Santana, Josh Bell, Tony Abreau, and someone like Elbert or Lindblom being the starting point of a Halladay deal? With the Jay’s need at catcher, it would make too much sense. The Dodgers really need to stop giving up top prospects for marginal veterans in order to not have to pay their salaries. Casey Blake, Sherrill, and Garland were not worth that price, and it takes them out of the market for true impact players.

by QuinnTheEzkamo on Nov 19, 2009 5:07 PM EST reply actions

Abreu

he won’t even start on Arizona, so he is not a bog loss.
Santana is certainly a loss, but what about his defensive skills? Is he league average.

raygu

by Ray Guilfoyle on Nov 19, 2009 6:03 PM EST reply actions

On Santana

Given his late start, his defense profiles to be league average. However, his power (ISO = .240 in AA) and patience (BB/K > 1 in AA) are great. The fact that he profiles out as a league average C is also a positive, given the other top offensive C prospect, Montero, doesn’t. The Jays have a need at catcher, and Santana would’ve been the best option as a 2011 starter. Santana would take up another year in AA or AAA while Arencibia plays in 2010 then acts as a back-up.

I mean, it’s not like prospects like Posey & Mauer back in the day (great at the plate and behind it) are really touchable. Santana along with a couple good SP prospects and an impact OF or Dee Gordron sounds like it would get the job done. Of course, this is all theoretical, but this top prospect for marginal upgrades stuff is killing the system now.

by QuinnTheEzkamo on Nov 19, 2009 6:29 PM EST up reply actions

rent-a-stud ?

if the dodgers are going to drop manny (being clowny) after 2010 ,
why not wait until dec of ‘10 , and put in a bid for halladay at that time ?
is halladay not going to be interested in testing the waters of free agency ,
even if traded to a big-market team this year ?
cust kayin’

by big o on Nov 20, 2009 12:11 AM EST reply actions

Any deal involving Halladay would likely involve a contract extension. Which works out best for both the Blue Jays, and for Halladay. Roy gets to sign with a team he believes in, and the Jays get a better batch of prospects / MLB players in return.

by Belligerent Burkie on Nov 22, 2009 2:51 AM EST up reply actions