Trading Deadline Thoughts

Less than 48 hours left in the trading deadline, so Roy Halladay could still be on the move--although giving up 11 hits to the Seattle Mariners is not the best way to up your value.
As for the moves that have been made, the Giants picked up some complimentary pieces, but gave up a lot. Tim Alderson may not be Madison Bumgarner, but he is still projected as a top of the rotation starter. Alderson is 11 years younger than Sanchez, who at 31 has a bad knee, with a contract option for 8 million next year if he gets to 600 plate appearances (he has 382 at the moment). Sanchez did win a batting title, but it was in 2006, when he hit 44 points above his career average.
I guess what this means is that the Giants are not enthused with Kevin Frandsen and Eugenio Velez--can't say I blame them. But Velez is 4 years younger than Sanchez, a ton cheaper (about 1/10th the price) and will hit maybe 20-25 points lower than Sanchez. For this upgrade, they give up probably their second-best pitching prospect? Not so sure about that... probably would rather see the extra money go to a first baseman or corner outfielder that can hit 25 homers.

In non-Giant news, the Phillies landed Cliff Lee, without having to give up the prospects that Toronto wanted for Halladay. That gives the Phillies as many as 4 lefties in the rotation. But is that a good thing? The Dodgers would appear to be the favorites in the NL, and they hit lefties 21 points better than righties (.290 to .271)--Matt Kemp hits .386, Casey Blake .361, Orlando Hudson .343 and James Loney .322
I'm not saying Cliff won't help--he's an extremely good pitcher. But at the same time, Charlie Manuel might want to think twice before setting his post-season rotation...

The biggest non-trade is obviously Halladay. Jays GM JP Ricciardi has been rebuffed in his efforts to land multiple top prospects, so we shall see if he lowers his asking price in an effort to move Halladay. The good news is that Halladay is signed through next year. The bad news, is that his value is higher now (considering Halladay remains with any new team through 2010) than it will be in the off-season.

Landing spot for Halladay? I really hope it's not LA... maybe Atlanta? They were interested in Peavy in the off-season, so they won't be scared by the payroll. And if they put Halladay with Derek Lowe and Tim Hudson, that could be the best 1-3 in the NL; maybe better than the Phillies with Lee and Cole Hamels.