And now it begins

So the Indians blinked and sent Lee and Francisco, a top tier starting pitcher and established productive outfielder to the Phillies, for nobody that is probably going to make an impact next year. Seriously if you were the Phillies how do you not do this deal over any Halladay one. They just added two mlb players without giving up anybody that hurt. And they didn't have to give up Happ to do it. They now have 4 plus starting pitchers instead of 3.

So much for tough talk from the Indians, Lee wasn't even going to make much money next year. You would think that would be worth at least one of Drabek, Taylor or Brown over one of the guys they did get.

So the question now is how does this affect the Jays chances of trading Halladay for a decent package of prospects now and in the future, or if they trade him at all.

1) This really puts the pressure on the other teams that look to be facing Philly in the playoffs. Why? Well the Phillies now have 3 top starters to throw against you plus 2 decent or better options. If you're the Dodgers, Red Sox or Yankees expecting to meet the Phillies on the way to your World Series Championship destiny do you really feel like it's not a good idea to add the best pitcher in baseball while he's still available. The Phillies have played their hand, what are you going to do?

2) Does this reduce what a team like the Jays can expect to receive for a top starter after November? Who knows? It's still 4 top prospects the Phillies gave up, even though it wasn't any of their 3 best, or anybody contributing at the mlb level at the time. Still you can't clearly see the future and something unforeseen may happen to really drive up the market for Halladay despite this. Or Lee might blow the doors off in Philly and people might think it's normal to not have to give up a lot for the best starting pitcher in baseball (the opposite of how the Bedard deal seems to have affected things).

3) What Riccardi really needs to do is pick up on my previous point and start a rumor at the opportune time that the Phillies are still planning on trading for Halladay, and really drive up the market. Not only would teams need Halladay to compete this year, they would need to keep him from the Phillies so they don't dominate this season and the next.

4) So do the Jays trade Halladay now? I think because of number 1 above the chances are still the same as before this deal. This has to increase the pressure a little on at least one of the other contenders who are interested, and I think it lowers Riccardi's sights just a little. This is especially true if his plan is to bluster as best as he can until the last minute and then take whatever the best offer is.