Oh I'm Halla Down

The Toronto Blue Jays have expressed that if someone is willing to offer them a large package (of baseball players) then they would be willing to consider it in exchange for Roy Halladay. They would be willing to part ways with their ace starting pitcher because they're not sure they would be able to re-sign him when he hits free agency.

This is becoming a more common move, particularly with smaller market teams who don't have the funds necessary to re-sign their stud pitchers. Usually they are traded for prospects, so the team giving up the current star has a chance to possibly land a future star.

There have been some notable moves in the past few years. Here are some I've come up with off the top of my head. Analysis will follow. Basically I'm going to judge whether or not the team trading the stud ended up getting anyone good from the trade.

(numbers in parentheses are the player's birth year, if pertinent)
Oakland A's trade Tim Hudson to the Atlanta Braves
Oak: Charles Thomas, Juan Cruz, Dan Meyer
Atl: Hudson

Charles Thomas: No longer in league
Juan Cruz (78): Now with the Royals, solid relief pitcher
Dan Meyer (81): Waived by A's, now with Marlins

Verdict: Oakland wasn't able to land anyone good enough to stay on their team, but Hudson has been an overall disappointment with the Braves as well. More or less a wash.

Oakland A's send Mark Mulder to the St. Louis Cardinals
Oak: Dan Haren, Kiko Calero, Daric Barton
StL: Mulder

Daric Barton (85): still too early to tell
Kiko Calero (75): released by A's

Verdict: Again, the A's sold at the right time, because Mulder hasn't done much with the Cardinals since being traded there. The A's absolutely got a gem in Dan Haren, who played very well for them. Speaking of Haren...

Oakland A's trade Dan Haren to the Arizona Diamondbacks
Oak: Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland, Greg Smith, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham, Carlos Gonzalez
Ariz: Haren, Connor Robertson
(Later Rockies trade Matt Holliday to the A's for Huston Street, Greg Smith, Carlos Gonzalez)

Brett Anderson (88): Solid in minors, no good in handful of appearances in majors
Dana Eveland (83): Very average, end of rotation starter
Chris Carter (82): In Boston organization now
Aaron Cunningham (86): Still too young
Greg Smith and Carlos Gonzalez: Used to get Matt Holliday from the Colorado Rockies

Verdict: The prospects are too young to tell. Had Matt Holliday not been a huge bust in Oakland so far this year, I would be inclined to say this was actually not a bad move. Essentially you're getting 4 prospects PLUS Matt Holliday for Dan Haren. Since they're going to probably end up trading Matt Holliday before season's end, the question of whether or not the Dan Haren trade was good for the A's will be more complicated than Avril Lavigne in an episode of Lost.

Minnesota Twins trade Johan Santana to the New York Mets
Minn: Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey, Deolis Guerra
NY: Santana

Carlos Gomez: Starting CF for the Twins
Phil Humber (82): Has been very bad in a handful of appearances so far
Deolis Guerra (89) and Kevin Mulvey (85): Still too young

Verdict: If you can get any starter in one of these deals, I think it's a good deal. Carlos Gomez is a defensively good center fielder and quick on the basepaths, so any one of those other prospects who becomes a decent player is icing on the cake.

Cleveland Indians trade Carston Charles (CC) Sabathia to the Milwaukee Brewers
Cle: Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson, Zach Jackson
Mil: CC, Michael Brantley

Matt LaPorta (85): Good in the minors, got called up earlier this year, still very young
Rob Bryson (87): Still too young
Zach Jackson (85): Not great so far in his starts

Verdict: Matt LaPorta will most likely be the only player of value gained from the Brewers. The only problem is that he is an outfielder and the Indians have three good or emerging young outfielders in Grady Sizemore, Shin-Soo Choo and Ben Francisco. His success as a Cleveland Indian remains to be seen.

Overall, these trades are usually, all things considered, productive ones for the team selling the star pitcher before he hits the free agent market.

I honestly don't think a Roy Halladay trade is going to happen because it seems like the Blue Jays want an incredible amount of talent in return for him, and the Blue Jays have been wearing him out this season so far. Both parties will not be able to come to an agreement over what is a fair trade for Roy Halladay. That is, unless the Blue Jays relax their demands or if a team gets really desperate to win this year.