Several thousand words were wasted on a Roy Halladay trade that never happened and that is on this site alone. I am glad that JP stuck to his word and didn't take less than what he felt Doc was worth.
The Blue Jays and Rangers were talking last night when they found that Halladay wouldn't approve a deal to the Rangers, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. The sides weren't close to a deal when they found out.
That's interesting to me, if Doc really wanted out I would have thought he'd take a trade to Texas.
Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail reports that Ricciardi was "never moved by a club" to trade Halladay, though two or three teams were serious about acquiring him and ten inquired.
I suppose those 2 or 3 teams would be the Phillies, Red Sox and Dodgers, maybe?
Scott Rolen was the one Jay to get traded. I really am surprised, I figured Jason Frasor and Scott Downs were the most likely to go, since I didn't figure their value to ever be higher. We are getting Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart for Rolen. Encarnacion was hurt at the start of the season and wasn't hitting well but for the last 23 games he is hitting .267/.368/507. He had 26 homers last year and is just 26 now so the next couple of years should be his peak seasons.
Roenicke is 36 26 has a 2.70 ERA in 11 appearances this season with the Reds. and is striking out 9.5 batters per 9 innings while only walking 2.6. It looks like Jeremy Accardo might be going back to Triple-A to make room for Roenicke.
Stewart is 22, has pitched at A, AA and now AAA this season. He was a starter in A and AA, had a 2.13 ERA in 7 starts at A-Ball and 1.46 ERA in 7 starts in Double-A. He has been a reliever in Triple A with a 0.73 ERA in 9 games. He is striking out 7.8 per 9 this year in the three levels. It looks to be like he'd be a starting prospect, I would guess he has been moved to the pen to keep his innings down, he has pitched 91 innings so far this year after about 65 last year. He does look like he could be a good one.
Minor league ball had Roenicke and Stewart as the Red's 6th and 7th best prospects before this season:
6) Josh Roenicke, RHP, Grade B-: Very impressive arm, could be a closer perhaps.
7) Zach Stewart, RHP, Grade B-: Strong arm, command issues, could move fast in the pen. Maybe a C+?
I guess this is a trade that we won't know how it turns out for a few years. I kind of expected more for Rolen but if Stewart makes the team as a starter then it will work out for us.
Jordan Bastian Twittered this:
I've been told that Rolen asked out of Toronto for family reasons
If that's true we it isn't a bad trade.