In the hot stove season, you will be confronted with many rumors. Many are plausible, many are not. Many lead to movement, many do not. You will have to judge for yourself how legitimate you feel a given rumor is. I’ll try to give you a head’s up on legitimacy, but I also feel it is my responsibility to pass you every rumor no matter how lukewarm or unlikely.
Think I’m setting something up?
One interesting scenario has new Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos indicating he’d be open to trading ace pitcher Roy Halladay, who becomes a free agent next fall after he’s scheduled to make $15.75 million in 2010.
Halladay has a no-trade clause in his contract, but he’s said he’d like to play for a contender, and the Cubs seem closer to getting back to the playoffs than do the Blue Jays. To get Halladay, the Cubs must move money.
Could Hendry package Bradley and prospects for Halladay? Bradley could thrive in the relatively quiet environs of Toronto, and Halladay would provide an instant jolt to the Cubs’ rotation. Daily Herald.
This would qualify as the “dream scenario” in a Bradley trade, which of course makes it unlikely. That is not to say it is impossible – but the Cubs would have to include a bevy of prospects. Indeed, they would have to include enough in prospects to a.) make the Blue Jays willing to accept their deal to move Halladay, and b.) make the Blue Jays willing to take on enough of Bradley’s contract to make adding Halladay financially feasible for the Cubs.
So if this were even a possibility, you’d have to forget about all those top Cubs prospects you’ve come to love this year. The vault would have to be completely open.