Toronto Blue Jays

The baseball world is abuzz tonight with talk of the apparently imminent blockbuster trade between the Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners. Reportedly, the deal is all but done, and it will include Toronto ace Roy Halladay, as well as Phillies star left-handed pitcher Cliff Lee, who will go to Seattle in the deal.

This morning I got up and saw that Roy Halladay was in Philadelphia with his agent.  The second I saw that I got the same exact feeling I got on July 29 when rumors started swirling about a deal for Cliff Lee. 

Well today it looks like the Cliff Lee era in Philadelphia is all but over.  Rumors all across the Internet, from ESPN to Sports Illustrated to Twitter and to blogs like my own have the Phillies involved in a three-team trade.  This deal would send Roy Halladay to the Phillies and Cliff Lee to the Mariners while both teams would send prospects to the Blue Jays.

The short list on the 40-man roster became even shorter late last night, as the Blue Jays whittled their roster down from 38 players to 37 after tendering contracts and non-tendering one...that of Raul Chavez.

Members of the Bautista Appreciation Society , buckle yourselves in, because the next 24 hours could be a bumpy ride.

We will learn by 11:59 pm on Saturday evening whether or not the Blue Jays will offer Bautista a contract and thus avoid arbitration.

Well...another year of Baseball's Winter Meetings is officially in the can.

Alex Anthopoulos and the Toronto Blue Jays essentially left Indianapolis as the same team as they arrived as. No trades, no free agent signings, and no crazy statements from the general manager.

The Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, or Phillies could have started laying the groundwork for a Roy Halladay trade, but we won't know for sure until the official announcement comes down from AA himself.

It appears the Toronto Blue Jays have two options for Roy Halladay and the 2010 season. Get a deal done before Spring Training ends or face the consequences of losing their ace pitcher to free agency.

According to Jeff Berry, one of Halladay’s representatives, if Halladay reports to Spring Training, all bets are off.

“One thing is certain—once Roy reports to Spring Training as a member of the Blue Jays, from that point forward he will not approve or even discuss any potential trade scenario,”

When it comes to off-field distractions, Roy Halladay would prefer not to deal with the drama.

ESPN’s Buster Olney spoke with one of Halladay's reps and said that if Roy Halladay is still with the Blue Jays next season, he will veto any trades after Spring Training and will therefore fly the coop as a free agent

There are a few impending events that will affect the Toronto Blue Jays and, therefore, us fans.

I'd like to present some crystal ball musings - since these events don't really seem connected, some "big-picture" tying together is needed.

First, Roy Halladay is going to either the Yankees or Red Sox.

Notice I didn't qualify this statement: If someone (like the Angels or Dodgers) is going to win the Doc, then there is going to have to be an offer made that's so monumental that NOBODY could have predicted it.

Type A free agency must be an incredible power that changes a man because it sounds like the temptation of playing for big money with a perennial playoff contender might be going to Marco Scutaro's head.

MLBTR recently reported that Scutaro's preferred destinations are the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers because they give him the best chance of playing in the postseason.