Doc Halladay: Philadelphia Phillie

Wow, how things can change.  Just a few days ago, I was laughing at the idea of the Phillies acquiring Roy Halladay, and then out of nowhere, Doc is a Phillie.  Phillies fans shouldn’t be complaining.

After all, the Philadelphia Phillies have now acquired the most dominant pitcher in baseball over the past six or so seasons.  A former Cy Young winner. A six-time All Star.  A complete game machine.  A true work horse.  A proven ace.  And he did it all while pitching in perhaps the best offensive division in baseball.

I like the deal, and think it was a good deal for the franchise, despite what other fans and members of the media are saying.  Basically, I will combine the deal that brought Lee to Philly in the summer of 2009 with the deal that sent him to Seattle, and also netted the Phillies Roy Halladay.  I break it down like this:

Philadelphia Phillies

Give up:  Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, Jason Knapp, Lou Marson, Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor, Travis D’Arnaud, and Cliff Lee

Receive:  Usage of Cliff Lee for 1/2 season and playoff run, Ben Francisco, Roy Halladay, Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies, Juan Ramirez, and $6 million.

Now, let’s break down the prospects (and keep in mind, many of these are very small sample sizes):

Carlos Carrasco:  Carrasco will be 23 by the time the 2010 season starts, and while he has been the top prospect in the Phillies system for a while, he hasn’t progressed like they had hoped.  He never made it up to the big club during his time in Philadelphia, but was called up after arriving in Cleveland and posted an 8.23 ERA and a 2.28 WHIP through 22.1 innings, going 0-4 through 5 starts.

Jason Donald:  Donald, a shortstop who is blocked by perennial Gold Glove winner Jimmy Rollins, was basically expendable.  The Phillies thought about, and tried for a while, to convert Donald to a third baseman, but it didn’t work out.  Donald batted .285 with an .804 OPS through 4 seasons and 359 games in the minors.

Lou Marson:  Marson was once thought of as the catcher of the future in Philadelphia, but like Carrasco, didn’t develop as quickly as many had hoped.  Add to that the emergence of Carlos Ruiz behind the plate for the Phillies, and Marson was virtually expendable.  In 22 games in the Majors with Philly and Cleveland, Marson has a .262 average and a .771 OPS.

Jason Knapp:  Knapp is a young fireballer who is said to throw in the upper 90′s.  In 2 seasons between rookie and A ball, Knapp posted a 3.80 ERA with a 1.23 WHIP through 128 innings.  He also had an impressive 11.7  K/9, with a 4.1 BB/9.

Kyle Drabek:  Drabek is believed to be the piece that the Phillies refused to move in the summer of ’09 when making a run at Roy Halladay.  Apparently, they changed their mind.  Drabek, son of Cy Young winner Doug Drabek, was a highly touted pitching prospect even after going through a Tommy John surgery early in his career.

Michael Taylor:  Taylor, one of the Phillies top outfield prospects, along with Domonic Brown, was flipped to the Oakland A’s shortly after being shipped to the Jays.  Taylor put up nice numbers, with a .312 average and a .898 OPS through 314 games in the minors.

Travis D’Arnaud:  D’Arnaud, another catching prospect, had a .267 average and a .746 OPS through 231 games.  D’Arnaud was rated above Marson by many, but Marson was, and still is, closer to the Majors.

Cliff Lee:  Of course, what can you say about Cliff Lee?  Lee, a former Cy Young winner, was acquired mid-season from Cleveland and pitched great down the stretch for the Phillies.  Of course, he is a free agent after the 2010 season and reports said that he wasn’t open to negotiating an extension yet.  So, the Phillies did what they could and moved him to replenish the prospects they lost in acquiring Roy Halladay.

In addition, Philadelphia received $6 million to cover the salary difference between Halladay and Lee.

The deal that sent Cliff Lee to the Mariners was partially financially motivated, but also replenished the farm system with a pair of young arms and talented outfielder.  The Mariners, looking to add another top arm to go along with young stud Felix Hernandez, sent a highly touted Canadian prospect to Philly.  Phillippe Aumont is said to have “top of the rotation, ace stuff” by scouts.  Juan Ramirez is projected as a potential #2 starter by scouts, and Tyson Gillies is a young Canadian outfielder who is a great story.  Gillies is partially deaf and has to wear special hearing aids just to hear his coaches and teammates.  The 21-year old batted .341 through 124 games, while also swiping 41 bases in High A ball last year.  Ramirez is a starter from Nicaragua who has a fastball that can touch 96 mph, and is still very young.

So, all in all, the Phillies got what they wanted:  Roy Halladay locked up for a long time with a below-market value contract and a few prospects in order to replenish the farm system.

Now, could the Phillies have kept Cliff Lee and also acquired Roy Halladay?  Sure, in a perfect world.  And if they were the Yankees.  Fact is, they’re not.  And this isn’t a perfect world.  Amaro did the right thing here.  He acquired a dominant starter, locked him up in an amazingly cheap deal given what he would’ve commanded on an open marked, and didn’t completely gut the farm system.  They could’ve kept Lee for the year and had the best top of the rotation in baseball, but been well over budget, and have a suddenly shallow pool of talent in the minors…or they could flip Lee to the Mariners, and acquire a few solid prospects while also freeing up a little bit of money to fill other needs such as the bullpen and and some bench players.

In the end, Ruben Amaro & Co. made the right decision, at least for the time being.  Time will tell, and we won’t know for several years who truly won in this deal.  But for now, I like the deal.  And you will too, as soon as you see Doc Halladay take the hill for your Philadelphia Phillies this spring.

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