Should The Toronto Blue Jays Trade Doc Halladay? Does It Even Matter?

Before people rush to set cyber-fire to the comment board, of course the answer to the latter question is a resounding yes.  If Roy Halladay swaps his Toronto Blue Jay uniform for that of another contender, it immediately moves the Vegas line on said contender's chances of making the playoffs and winning the World Series.

That alone puts a sweltering and relevant spotlight over the splendid right-hander.

However, the more specific question of whether a Halladay trade matters to the Toronto Blue Jays is an uglier query.

I mean no disrespect to the organization, city or fans.  I have nothing against Canada in general or the Centre of the Universe in particular—I've heard both the people and urban centers are wonderful.  But, good grief, take a look around you.

The American League East started 2009 as a new breed of savage and the science experiment gone awry is only mutating further and faster.

Forget about the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees—that territory is well trodden and nothing seems destined to change for the foreseeable future.  They will have more resources than your average big spender and, now, it seems they've come around on the whole "developing talent through your extensive farm system" thing.

So you have those two monsters lurking atop the division this year, next year, and probably every year after until Major League Baseball changes its economic structure.

When you mention internal talent development, the poster child might just be the Tampa Bay Rays—take the outrageous budgets of the Sox and Bombers, convert it all to equally outrageous young talent, and you have the Rays.  They lack the financing to keep it all, but that hardly matters when you consider the degree to which their prospect cup runneth over.

Say hello to your third postseason hurdle for years to come.  But those three were known quantities coming into this campaign.

The situation has gotten considerably worse for the Jays because all the green talent in the Baltimore Orioles' system has moved from rumor to fact in 2009.

The O's will welcome more can't-missers like Matt Wieters and Nolan Reimold in the very near future.  Unfortunately for the Show, much of that talent is coming down the pitching pike—Chris Tillman (whispers of his debut are circulating, look for him on Monday or Tuesday of next week), Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, and Kam Mickolio (who's already up with the Big League squad).

Baltimore already has Adam Jones and Nick Markakis scorching the Majors, and Wieters will come around as well.  None of these names have been aged a day pass 26.

If I'm inside the halls of power for the Blue Jay franchise and I haven't had a good night's sleep, I'm flipping out.

What can your really hope to do?

For the short-term, you can't trade Roy Halladay because—as talented as Brett Cecil, Ricky Romero, Brad Mills, and Marc Rzepczynski may be—Toronto will surely collapse against the caliber of competition it will face without the veteran gunslinger.  Perhaps the sheer talent along with that of Adam Lind, Alex Rios, Aaron Hill, and (eventually) Travis Snyder can carry them through the doldrums.

I doubt it—not without a reliable ace to help put a suture on the losing wound.

However, can you really keep Roy Halladay?

I say the answer here is no less attractive because, regardless of the organization's ultimate fate, there will be some years of strife and struggle in the very near future.  Even if Dustin McGowan, Jesse Litsch, and Shaun Marcum all make seamless returns from significant injuries.

In any other division, that rotation and the talent assembled in the Mega City would be good for at least a couple pennants in the next five to 10 years.  In the AL East, it's a good start and still a damn sight from contending in all but the most magical of years.

With those foreboding clouds on the horizon, how can you justify reserving such a disproportionate amount of payroll for one player who only takes the diamond every fifth day?

Even if he wins every fifth day, which Doc usually does—no matter the opposition.

So you can't keep Halladay either, not from a cost-benefit perspective.

The phrase, "rock and a hard place," jumps to mind.

As I see it, the Toronto Blue Jays and J.P. Ricciardi have only one hope and it's got nothing to do with 2009—this year's ship has sailed.

The franchise needs to batten down the hatches and prepare for the long, brutal haul—year-by-year maneuvering will backfire badly.  The Jays have to follow the Baltimore and Tampa Bay path of accumulating an astounding amount of young, superlative talent.

Think Cecil and Lind, but by the handful.

That means moving Scott Rolen to a desperate suitor.  It means moving Vernon Wells to an equally desperate suitor.  And it might mean eating some salary for the time-being if it can squeeze a couple extra prospects or extra levels of prospect out of the trade-partner.

I'd hawk Marco Scutaro as well as Lyle Overbay, too.  Keeping higher-salaried, established talent around for the remainder of this season makes no sense.  Not if you can get some genuine building blocks in return.

Because this season in the AL East belongs to Boston, New York, or Tampa Bay.

And the Toronto Blue Jays will need a whole lotta sturdy blocks to build a team strong enough to withstand the future fray.

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