Happy Halladay? Phillies in talks for blockbuster Lee for Halladay deal

The good news: Roy Halladay appears to be coming to Philadelphia. The bad news: it may be at the expense of Cliff Lee. The long rumored deal that would send Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay to the Phillies is on the verge of happening as part of an epic three team deal that will send Cliff Lee to the Mariners, prospects from the Phillies to the Blue Jays and prospects from Seattle to Philly. None of the details of the deal have been worked out as of yet and there are still talks that Lee won't be part of the deal but it appears that some kind of deal that gets Halladay to Philadelphia is imminent.

Rumors have been flying all day today after word spread that Halladay was in Philly to discuss a contract extension with the Phillies. The Phillies will only trade for Halladay, who will be a free agent after the coming season, if they can get him signed to a long-term contract extension. That would be the reason for the Phillies jettisoning Cliff Lee to get Halladay since Lee has been hesitant to talk extension with the Phillies. While I would hate to see Lee go, I would rather have 5 years of Halladay than 1 more year of Lee.

While this trade is far from official and speculation has run rampant about who the Phillies will give up from their minor league system (Michael Taylor? Domonic Brown? Kyle Drabek?), things seem to be closer with this Halladay deal than any other previous report. I will hold off on commenting about the deal until everything goes through but I'm all for the Phillies doing what they can to bring in Roy Halladay as long as the price they pay isn't too high. Cliff Lee was a monster down the stretch for the Phillies but Roy Halladay is one of the top 3 pitchers in baseball. When you can get a guy like that you do whatever it takes, within reason.