It's the sexiest name on the market: Roy Halladay. He's one of the best pitchers we've seen in many years, he can easily win 20 games for any contender and his stuff is just flat out nasty.
With that said, he is not going to be a Boston Red Sox on August 1, no matter how hard you try.
There are a few reasons why he won't be a Red Sox, but the most important reason is that the Sox do not need Roy Halladay.Do you remember back a few months when everyone was freaking out about how the Sox would fit John Smoltz into the rotation? And, at the same time, Clay Buchholz was lighting up Pawtucket? Not to mention Michael Bowden who, along with Buchholz, is still making AAA batters weep.
Since then, we've solved the first problem. Smoltz is in the rotation because Daisuke Matsuzaka is on the disabled list. Check that one off the list. Our next big worry is Buchholz, who is absolutely sick of playing for Pawtucket. He's been killing batters since day one and he wants to be in the big leagues. He deserves to be in the big leagues. If the Sox add another prime-time starter, Buchholz won't see the light of day in Boston until September at the earliest and his innings would be limited.
But let's step back a moment. To even acquire Halladay in the first place, guess who'd be wearing Toronto blue and staring in the rotation the next day? Buchholz -- at least. Maybe Bowden, too. Daniel Bard in the bullpen? That's not a long shot, either. If that happens, hey! My money's on the Jays!
Let's look back a couple of years now. Remember that guy named Johan Santana? The Sox didn't want to move prospects like Jon Lester for him. That non-trade seems like a good decision now by Theo Epstein. The situation right now isn't very different. Epstein has been very reluctant to trade Buchholz and I don't think it'll be any different with Halladay on the market.
To get Halladay, the Sox would have to part with names like Buchholz, Bowden, Bard, Lars Anderson, Casey Kelly. Now, do we really want to trade talent like that for a 32-year-old injury prone starter? While I will say that if the Sox were to trade talent like that, Halladay would probably be one of two of the best guys to bring back, but it's just not worth it.
It's a balancing act: do we want an aging stud of a pitcher, or do we want youthful pitchers that have high cielings? While Halladay may allow the Red Sox to "win now," it won't be a move to win now and later. Keeping the young guns could keep the Sox competitive for many years down the road.
Theo will not sell the farm. Why sell it when we're still the best team in the AL? Let a team -- hopefully a National League team -- grab him and contend for a playoff spot. The Red Sox, on the other hand, do not need Halladay and will continue to push forward without him.