Getting Granderson = No Halladay?

So, now that we’ve gotten Curtis Granderson out of the way, what about Roy Halladay?

From Bob Klapisch (Bergen Record):

Cashman was so energized at the prospect of adding Granderson, he did so at the expense of Roy Halladay. By trading Class AAA center fielder Austin Jackson to the Tigers, the Yankees are more determined than ever to hang on to catching prospect Jesus Montero, effectively killing talks with the Jays.

By adding Roy Halladay, the Yankees would definitely bolster their still developing rotation — the obvious benefit — but they would also increase their payroll by $15.75M without having resolved their issues at left field or DH. While the Yankees could certainly address those issues internally, as Klapisch correctly points out, in addition, a Halladay trade would completely deplete the team’s farm system after Austin Jackson, the Yankees’ second best prospect behind Jesus Montero, was flipped for Curtis Granderson. With this in mind, I ask, is a Halladay trade worth the costs?

Joe P. over at RAB notes that Cashman’s “trump card, should he choose to play it, is the dominance factor. A rotation of Sabathia, Halladay, Burnett, Pettitte, and Chamberlain/Hughes would be the league’s best.” This is a good point in that the rotation would be, for the most part, unbeatable if Halladay was acquired. However, in my view, due to the exorbitant cost of such domination, a trade with Toronto could also be highly unnecessary, especially if it displaces the team’s future stars (i.e., Jesus Montero). The Yankees could certainly use Halladay in order to obliterate other clubs in 2010, but with a rotation that already features CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettitte, one wonders if Halladay will help the team come in first place or if he’ll just help what is already a first-place team win a few more games.

3:02 pm — With other teams competing for the Blue Jays’ right-handed ace, Keith Law (ESPN) thinks that the Yankees may not have enough, player-wise, to offer Toronto now that Austin Jackson is headed to Detroit:

“The problem for New York is I’m not sure I buy the idea that a Montero-centered deal would be the best offer the Jays can get for Halladay. It could be a compelling one — Montero, Phil Hughes, Zach McAllister, plus one is a nice package — but I could see three or four other clubs potentially topping that if they’re so motivated.”

The Phillies are quietly in the Halladay hunt, so perhaps that’s a better fit for the Jays.

UPDATE (3:16 pm) — Jon Heyman reiterates that the Blue Jays have requested Jesus Montero and one of Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain, plus others, in any deal for Roy Halladay.

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