Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi Gives Teams Until Tuesday to Ante up on Halladay

Toronto Blue Jays General Manager J.P. Ricciardi has given teams until Tuesday, July 27, to make their offers for six-time All-Star Roy Halladay.

Ricciardi also said that it is unlikely he will move his ace. This is a step backward from when he and Halladay both said it was a 50/50 chance he would be traded.

Halladay is scheduled to start on Friday, so a start on Tuesday might not be out of the question. However, it is unknown who will be the starter on Tuesday.

This could either be Ricciardi pouring more gasoline on the media fire or he is trying to hasten teams to make their offers for Halladay, but I still think there is a 50/50 chance of Halladay getting moved. The reason Riccardi is rushing this is because the earlier Halladay moves the more time Ricciardi has to move Alex Rios, Scott Rolen, Lyle Overbay, and whoever else.

It's clear that none of those players are leaving Toronto unless Halladay is out first.

So if Halladay is moved at 9:30 p.m. at the trade deadline, then all those other high-end players are locked up in Toronto—and the team gets even worse.

It's become very clear that Ricciardi is either going to blow the whole team up or keep it together.

In my opinion, blowing it up is the only logical option. The Blue Jays are in a situation where there's a dogfight for first place at the top of their division and the loser is still going to be the second best team in the playoffs.

The Blue Jays will not make the playoffs in the foreseeable future. That much is clear, because the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are just too good, too smart, and too rich.

For those reasons alone, why not blow the whole thing up and start over?

There is no other option. It's time for the Blue Jays to rebuild.

J.P. Ricciardi fails to realize that he is not the general manager of the Yankees or Red Sox. Rebuilding is a path he can take without losing his job.

The rest of the world knows that the current team can't compete in the AL East.

Why can't Ricciardi figure it out?