Montero for Halladay, straight up
January 16, 2010, 4:30 pm by iYankees · 7 Comments
In mid-December, Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman noted that the Yankees were willing to part with top prospect, Jesus Montero, for Toronto’s ace right-hander, Roy Halladay. However, according to Heyman, the Blue Jays passed on the Yankees’ offers because their packages, with Montero as the centerpiece, did not include Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes, as well.
Yesterday, though, from The Star’s Richard Griffin (props to RAB), we learned that the Yankees not only refused to send Toronto Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain in a package with Montero, but that they also refused to offer any of their other prospects in a Halladay deal. Essentially, the Yankees offered a one-for-one swap – Jesus for Halladay – and that was it.
Griffin’s piece makes it pretty clear that the Yankees were never really big players for Halladay. Sure, they offered their best prospect for him, however, it was always going to take more than a one-prospect package to acquire Toronto’s ace – even if that prospect was Jesus Montero – especially since the Yankees and the Jays share the same division (and because such a trade would come with considerable risk for Toronto).
Can you imagine the anger in Toronto if the Jays had actually done that deal? Wow…
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