Ruben Amaro Jr. has a slight problem.
He’s just pulled off a blockbuster trade and acquired the former Cy Young pitcher that Phillies fans were clamoring for last summer.
Blue Jays ace right-hander Roy Halladay will be a Phillie, likely as early as today. That’s the good news.
Cliff Lee will not be. That’s the bad news.
Lee, also a former AL Cy Young winner, is the guy Amaro turned to when he deemed the Blue Jays’ asking price too steep at the trade deadline last summer. Amaro balked at giving up a bunch of young prospects, and instead sent a package of lesser minor leaguers to the Indians for Lee.
All Lee did was turn into the ace of the Phillies’ staff and a fan favorite. He was 4-0 in the postseason, including dazzling the Yankees in the Phils’ only World Series win.
But Lee made it clear he wanted to test free agency at the end of his current deal next year. The Phils apparently were not optimistic that they would be able to sign him, so they again turned their sights on Halladay.
Now Amaro has his guy; Halladay is in, Lee is out, dealt to the Seattle Mariners, with three more young stud players headed to Toronto, including pitcher Kyle Drabek and outfielder Michael Taylor. You may remember those names as the guys Amaro would not deal for Halladay just a few months ago. In the meantime, a lot of fans are ticked, wondering why Amaro did not keep both Lee and Halladay, at least for this one year.
That no doubt will come up when Amaro unveils his new acquisition, very likely today.
Maybe that’s a sign of just how far the Phillies have come as an organization. Maybe they really are becoming the Yankees of the National League.
Imagine just a few months ago the team announcing it was acquiring Roy Halladay, and being blasted by the fans in the process.
As Whitey likely would have said: Hard to believe, Harry!
He’s just pulled off a blockbuster trade and acquired the former Cy Young pitcher that Phillies fans were clamoring for last summer.
Blue Jays ace right-hander Roy Halladay will be a Phillie, likely as early as today. That’s the good news.
Cliff Lee will not be. That’s the bad news.
Lee, also a former AL Cy Young winner, is the guy Amaro turned to when he deemed the Blue Jays’ asking price too steep at the trade deadline last summer. Amaro balked at giving up a bunch of young prospects, and instead sent a package of lesser minor leaguers to the Indians for Lee.
All Lee did was turn into the ace of the Phillies’ staff and a fan favorite. He was 4-0 in the postseason, including dazzling the Yankees in the Phils’ only World Series win.
But Lee made it clear he wanted to test free agency at the end of his current deal next year. The Phils apparently were not optimistic that they would be able to sign him, so they again turned their sights on Halladay.
Now Amaro has his guy; Halladay is in, Lee is out, dealt to the Seattle Mariners, with three more young stud players headed to Toronto, including pitcher Kyle Drabek and outfielder Michael Taylor. You may remember those names as the guys Amaro would not deal for Halladay just a few months ago. In the meantime, a lot of fans are ticked, wondering why Amaro did not keep both Lee and Halladay, at least for this one year.
That no doubt will come up when Amaro unveils his new acquisition, very likely today.
Maybe that’s a sign of just how far the Phillies have come as an organization. Maybe they really are becoming the Yankees of the National League.
Imagine just a few months ago the team announcing it was acquiring Roy Halladay, and being blasted by the fans in the process.
As Whitey likely would have said: Hard to believe, Harry!
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