The situation in Toronto is rather different these days than it was in the summer months. General manager J.P. Ricciardi is gone, replaced by Alex Anthopoulos. The newly appointed GM has a game plan, and he told The Globe and Mail that Halladay could end up getting traded this offseason because Halladay's "timeline for winning" and that of the Blue Jays "may not mesh."
For the Red Sox, that likely means they'll pursue the 32-year-old ace, who's a six-time All-Star and a former Cy Young winner. Of course, Anthopoulos won't be eager to trade his best player within the division, but the Red Sox could be one of the few teams with the assets to get a deal done. For what it's worth, the Red Sox are also reportedly on Halladay's list of teams to which he'd accept a trade.
For starters, Halladay's $15.75 million salary in 2010 is enough to scare away at least 20 MLB clubs. The Red Sox have taken a rash of criticism from fans after the Yankees spent $423 million last offseason, so spending might not be an issue for Boston this year.
Second, the Red Sox, even after their July trade for Victor Martinez, still have enough pieces in place to entice Anthopoulos and the Blue Jays into making a deal. Both clubs disputed the reported July offer made by the Red Sox, but with Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, Ryan Westmoreland and a pair of young shortstops in Yamaico Navarro and Jose Iglesias, the Red Sox' system has what it would take to land Halladay.
For Anthopoulos, trading Halladay would allow the GM to begin his tenure with his players under his master plan. It's unlikely that Halladay fits into the 32-year-old GM's vision for the future, and if no other team can satisfy Anthopoulos' demands, it wouldn't be outrageous for him to talk business with Theo Epstein.
Acquiring Halladay still wouldn't help the Red Sox hit on the road, which was their biggest issue in 2009. But adding a proven ace to a team that arguably already has two of them is a move that could shift the balance of power in the AL East in Boston's favor.
