Could The Cubs Make a Push For Roy Halladay?

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As trade rumors intensify around the Blue Jays' ace Roy Halladay, the odds of him moving appear to be rising.

However, the odds of Toronto receiving the crop of young talent they desire seems to be shrinking by the day. In the current economy, teams are trying to build winners more than ever before, and moving three or four top tier pieces just doesn't make sense to most franchises.

For a team that's playing within an equally shrinking window of opportunity, especially one that has created a concrete ceiling over their farm system by overpaying veteran free agents over the last six years, would selling a few of their top pieces make sense?

For the Chicago Cubs, it might.

On Sunday, the Cubs needed an emergency start from Kevin Hart because of Ryan Dempster's toe issue and Ted Lilly having some leg issues of his own. Hart, one of the top names in the Cubs organization for the last couple seasons, looked strong against Washington, hitting 94 mph with his fastball and seeing a peak of 89 mph on his slider.

Which got me to thinking: do the Cubs have enough pieces to make a bold move for someone like Halladay?

Obviously back in March the Cubs were heavily involved with the San Diego Padres in trade talks surrounding another elite pitcher, Jake Peavy. In March, San Diego General Manager Kevin Towers didn't think the Cubs had enough to make a deal happen.

Let's talk about what we've seen from the Cubs prospects in the majors this year.

Hart, albeit in limited action, has looked sharp and, at times, able to overpower major league batters. Granted, Sunday was against the Nationals, but it doesn't diminish the movement and velocity his pitches showed.

Randy Wells, though he didn't have his best stuff against the Nationals on Saturday, has been one of the top rookies in the National League this season. He's now 5-4 with a 3.00 ERA and an impressive 1.15 WHIP. He has also qualified for a quality start in almost all of his starts this year, something Toronto would have to see as a plus in moving their ace.

Either of these young starters could be a centerpiece for a package with Toronto.

Also available in a trade for Halladay could be Rich Harden. Harden's in the final year of his contract and the Cubs would likely want to move the remainder of his salary off the books in any deal. He would at least give the Jays a top of the rotation starter for the remainder of this season.

Right now, the Jays have Kevin Millar hitting under .230 with a .309 on-base percentage as their primary designated hitter, and have health concerns about Scott Rolen at third base.

Enter Jake Fox.

Fox has done everything the Cubs organization could have hoped for when Aramis Ramirez went down with his shoulder injury two months ago. And now that Ramirez is back, Cubs manager Lou Piniella is going to struggle to find one of his hottest hitters consistent playing time.

For the year, Fox is batting .326 with five home runs and 19 runs batted in, and has a .365 on-base percentage in his 86 at bats.

He makes consistent contract and has shown good power in his limited action, making him a cheaper and more effective DH than Millar. And, at just 26-years-old, could contribute for the Jays for years.

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