Roy Halladay invited to attend Phillies spring training as guest instructor

Reports out of Philadelphia indicate that Roy Halladay has been invited to attend the Phillies' spring training camp in Clearwater as a guest instructor along with Larry Andersen, Brad Lidge, former Blue Jays designated hitter Dave Hollins, and former Jays radio broadcaster Gary Matthews.

When he announced his retirement, both Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos and Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. commented that they would like to invite Halladay back to their respective organizations in to assist with player development. Jays president Paul Beeston even went so far as to say that Halladay would "likely" be at spring training with Toronto this year. There is a chance that Halladay could attend both camps, as Clearwater and the Blue Jays' spring training home in Dunedin are just a 20-minute drive from each other.

Halladay, 36, is younger than Shawn Camp and Bobby Abreu, who will be attending Phillies big league camp as non-roster invitees. The Phillies have eight players born in the 1970s on their active roster.

In other news, the Phillies have signed everyone's favourite minor league second baseman (at least back in April and May) Jim Negrych to a minor league deal.