The Phillies will be receiving Roy Halladay and $6 million from the Blue Jays in addition to three minor leaguers (Juan Ramirez, Tyson Gillies and Phillippe Aumont) from the Mariners. The Mariners will be getting Cliff Lee from the Phillies.

The Blue Jays will get their hands on three highly regarded prospects — Kyle Drabek from the Phillies, Travis d’Arnaud from the Phillies and Brett Wallace from the A’s. The A’s will be getting minor leaguer Michael Taylor from the Blue Jays.

What is the logic behind this trade? The Phillies will be basically trading one great pitcher for another great pitcher. The reason they prefer Halladay is that they feel they can keep him around for a longer period of time. Lee, on the other hand, is likely to test free agent waters next offseason.

For the Blue Jays, they’ve been trying to rebuild by trading Halladay. The Mariners get a pitching stud to put at the top of their rotation next to Felix Hernandez, while the A’s get a minor league prospect that they have coveted.

Roy Halladay is about to be traded to the Phillies (Image: Zuma Press)

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In 144 games, Scutaro set career-highs in batting average (.282), on-base percentage (.379), slugging percentage (.409), homers (12), RBIs (60), runs (100), doubles (35), walks (90) and stolen bases (14). That was an impressive feat considering that he’s gotten regular at-bats the previous five seasons.

Although he was primarily a shortstop for the Blue Jays, he’s able to play multiple positions. As a result, certain teams are going after him with the idea that he’ll be a full-time player at a different position — such as third base.

Teams interesting in Scutaro include the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox. Even though he’s 34, Scutaro is likely to get a multi-year deal worth a good amount of money. It’ll be interesting to see if the native of Venezuela can build off his career year.

Marco Scutaro will be a sought after free agent (Image: Zuma Press)

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The two main characters in the brawl were New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada and Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Jesse Carlson. In the eighth inning, Carlson through a pitch behind Posada after two Blue Jays were hit by pitches.

The fireworks really went off in the eighth when Posada scored and bumped Carlson after crossing the plate. That bump cleared both benches and created a relatively physical brawl.

As for the game, the Blue Jays were able to beat the Yankees by a final score of 10-4. The Yankees got up 2-0 but then the Blue Jays scored the game’s next eight runs to put the contest away.

Here is a video of the brawl between the Yankees and Blue Jays:

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Although Toronto had a chance to reclaim Rios, the fact that he’s owed more than $60 on his contract helped the Blue Jays decide to shed the salary. On the season, Rios is hitting .264 with 14 homers and 62 RBIs. He also has 19 stolen bases and 52 runs scored.

With the White Sox, he will make Chicago a better team. He’ll get a lot of at-bats and will allow teammates to get days off as the team heads into the stretch run of the season.

Right now, Chicago is three games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central with a record of 57-56. The addition of Rios combined with the addition of pitcher Jake Peavy has the White Sox primed for a strong finish to the 2009 baseball season.

Alex Rios - Chicago White Sox (Image: Zuma Press)

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Halladay of the Toronto Blue Jays has recently been the subject of trade rumors. Considering how talented he is, that’s of little surprise. On the season, Halladay has a 2.85 ERA, a record of 10-3 and a WHIP of 1.10. He’s on his way to winning 16 or more games for the fourth straight season.

Lincecum is the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner. In 2009, he’s threatening to win the award for the second straight year. For the San Francisco Giants, Lincecum has a 10-2 record with a 2.33 ERA and a WHIP of 1.05. Last season, Lincecum was 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA. At 25, he might be the best young pitcher in the game.

The All-Star game will be played in St. Louis on Tuesday night. Lincecum was selected as the starter by Charlie Manuel, the National League manager. Joe Maddon, the American League manager, selected Halladay.

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David Price - Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Zuma Press)

In his six innings, Price gave up six hits, one walk and one earned run while striking out seven and evening his record at 3-3. In three of his previous four starts, Price had given up at least five earned runs. For the season, the 23-year-old left-hander has a 4.70 ERA.

The big hit for the Rays came in the fifth inning with Carlos Pena knocked in two runs with a double to put Tampa Bay up 3-1. Adam Lind had an RBI in the seventh but the Jays weren’t able to score any more runs.

The Rays are now 47-39 on the season. While they have one of the best records in the American League, the bad news is that they are behind both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the AL East.

Also in the AL East, the Jays are now 43-44 and nine games back in the division.

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Said Halladay: “I want to stay, but I think it’s a situation you have to evaluate. I’m really not at that situation just yet. If something does come up, you weigh your options at that point. I hate to put the cart in front of the horse and start saying ‘Do I want to do that?’ I think you just evaluate the situations when they come.”

Where could he be headed. Here are a few Roy Halladay rumors about his possible destinations:

Los Angeles Angels
The Angels have the hitting to win a World Series, however their pitching needs a lot of help. Halladay could answer a lot of questions.

Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies are looking for starting pitchers all around the world. They have even gone to the Dominican Republic to take a look at Pedro Martinez.

Boston Red Sox
Although they probably have enough prospects and talent to get him, the Red Sox may opt to instead hold onto their young studs.

New York Yankees
If there is a big name on the trade market, you just know the Yankees will be interested. Like with the Red Sox, do the Yankees want to trade their minor league talent for Halladay?

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His first pitch of the fourth inning went as planned. However, his second pitch left Halladay grimacing. He was soon removed from the game.

Halladay is having a fantastic season. He has a 2.53 ERA with a record of 10-1. The 32-year-old pitcher was 7-0 in his last nine starts before getting hurt on Friday.

Once removed from the game, Halladay was diagnosed with a tweaked right groin. It’s not known at this point if he’ll be forced to miss any starts for the Blue Jays.

Expert to hear more news regarding Halladay’s health on Saturday.

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When looking at Lee’s numbers, it’s difficult to keep your jaw from hitting the floor. He had a record of 22-3 to go along with a 2.54 ERA and a microscopic WHIP of 1.11. He also had 170 strikeouts and only 33 walks in 223.1 innings pitched.

The 30-year-old Lee had by far his best season in 2008. In 2007, Lee had a 6.29 ERA and a record of 5-8. In fact, in his previous four seasons, he only had one campaign with an ERA under 4.00.

Second place in the AL Cy Young Award balloting was Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Roy Halladay. Halladay, who already has a Cy Young Award to his name, finished 20-11 with a 2.78 ERA.

Lee finished with 24 first place votes, while Halladay got four. Lee joins National League Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.

Photo credit: Newscom

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4) Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
Another year, another Roy Halladay great season. Perhaps the most underrated pitcher in the entire major leagues, Halladay currently has a 2.81 ERA and a 19-11 record. It took the Blue Jays a while it kick it into gear this season but Halladay has been behind their late season resurgence.

3) Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston Red Sox
After signing that enormous contract last season, Daisuke Matsuzaka got off to a relatively slow start to his big league career in the United States. However this season, Matsuzaka has been everything the Red Sox wished he’d become. He has an amazing 18-2 record to go with a sparkling 2.80 ERA. If this were any other year, he’d be a great candidate to take home the Cy Young Award.

2) Cliff Lee, Cleveland Indians
Seemingly out of nowhere Cliff Lee has put up ridiculous stats this season. He leads the American League in wins and ERA at 22 and 2.41, respectively. He only has two losses and has been a consistent force for the Indians all season long. Considering that the Indians underperformed for much of the year, Lee’s strong season is even that much more spectacular.

1) Francisco Rodriguez, Los Angeles Angels
The only thing standing between Cliff Lee and the Cy Young Award is Francisco Rodriguez. The Angels closer has had one of the best seasons of all-time for a reliever as he’s amassed a major league record number of saves. To date, Rodriguez has 61 saves and an ERA of 2.31. It’s difficult for relievers to win the Cy Young, but Rodriguez’s season is noteworthy enough that he has a very good shot at taking home the trophy.

Francisco Rodriguez has pitched his name into the record books and Cy Young consideration.

Photo: Newscom

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