The Newest Toronto Blue Jays (and an Oakland Athletic)

2007 Bowman Prospects #BP111 Kyle Drabek

2007 Bowman Draft Picks #BDPP14 Travis d'Arnaud

2007 Bowman Draft Picks #BDPP37 Michael Taylor

The Phillies Room bids farewell to three more prospects, dealt yesterday to acquire Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Kyle Drabek was the Phillies 1st round selection in the June 2006 draft. The son of former pitcher Doug Drabek, Kyle split 2009 between Class A Clearwater and AA Reading, going 12-3 with a 3.19 ERA. Recovering from a July 2007 Tommy John surgery, Kyle pitched in just 8 games in 2008 but by all accounts made a full and impressive recovery with his 2009 performance.

We were there for Michael Taylor's AAA debut in July and we witnessed his first AAA home run. The Blue Jays have spun Taylor off to the Athletics, where he should compete for the A's starting left fielder job out of Spring Training. A Stanford graduate, Taylor possesses both power and speed and he's been compared to Jermaine Dye.

I featured catcher Travis d'Arnaud in a post back in September, celebrating the Lakewood BlueClaws' advance to the Sally Championship Series. Known more for his defense than his offense, d'Arnaud was ranked ahead of Lou Marson in terms of catching depth in some scouting reports last year. Marson, of course, was part of the package that netted now Seattle Mariner Cliff Lee from the Indians in July.

Best of luck to all three and I'll be paying a little closer attention this year to the Blue Jays, A's and Mariners.

2009 Chachi Special Edition #KD Kyle Drabek

I've had a little more time to digest the proposed blockbuster trade that would send Cliff Lee to Seattle and Roy Halladay to Philly. And my reaction (for now) is that I don't like it. Mainly because I'd like to have my cake and eat it too, but also because the Phils are shipping coveted pitching prospect Kyle Drabek to the Blue Jays. As the proposed trade evolved, it went from a 3-team trade to two separate trades with the Halladay deal contingent on the Phillies' ability to shed Cliff Lee's salary. With Lee (reportedly) not willing to talk long-term contract and with the fear he may walk at the end of 2010, the Phillies apparently felt the need to send him packing.

Don't get me wrong - I won't be upset when the trade goes down, but greedily, I would have loved to have had Halladay and Lee in the same rotation in 2010 even if Lee left following the season. And I'm always worried when the Phils trade off their top prospects, but I'm a little more apprehensive this time with the dealing away of the highly regarded Kyle Drabek.

The expert analysts all say the deals could take a few more days to get done, but here's where it stands as of right now:

Deal #1
Phillies get - Pitcher Phillippe Aumont, outfielder Tyson Gillies and pitcher Juan Ramirez
Mariners get - Pitcher Cliff Lee

Deal #2
Phillies get - Pitcher Roy Halladay and cash
Blue Jays get - Pitcher Kyle Drabek, outfielder Michael Taylor, catcher Travis D'Arnaud

Lingering Questions: Why were J.A. Happ and Joe Blanton requested to have physicals yesterday? Is Aumont a comparable prospect to Drabek? Is there any way Deal #2 could happen without needing to do Deal #1? What number will Halladay wear with the Phillies, given #32 was retired in honor of Steve Carlton? (Halladay wore #52 in his rookie year of 1998 - a number currently available.) Is it a coincidence the parties involved are the Blue Jays and Mariners, given former GM Pat Gillick's close ties to both teams?