Charlie Manuel termed all trade rumors "hogwash" till something gets done. Hogwash is what I thought when I heard last evening that, according to Jon Heyman of S.I., J.P. Ricciardi of the Blue Jays had 'offered' Roy Halladay to the Mets for a package of Fernando Martinez, Jonathan Niese, Bobby Parnell, and Ruben Tejeda. I almost snorted when I heard that the Mets had turned it down. Martinez is now injured and looked totally overmatched in his stint with the Mets. Niese is pretty much a yawn. Parnell has run into trouble of late and I know nothing about the shortstop Tejeda. Color me totally unimpressed by three of the four. Why would Halladay want to go to the Mets anyway? Last I saw, they were in 4th place. Not exactly the winner Halladay says he's looking for.
So I now hear Jon Heyman on radio defending yesterday's rumor, which was denied by everyone involved. He's using the tack that the Jays also offered Halladay to the Phillies for a package of Carrasco, Taylor, and Donald, but no one's talking about that. He trashed Carrasco by saying he was having a horrific year. I'd say it's been rocky for sure but more to the point, Carrasco's got a better upside than Niese. He then said Martinez was as good as Taylor--an interesting way to put it. As for Donald, he's still recovering from knee surgery. Do the Jays have a thing for injured players? Odd that the Philadelphia part of the rumor sank like a stone. I really like Carrasco and would love to see him 'grow up' to be a Phillie, but I'd probably make that deal.
Given the level of chatter about Halladay to the Phillies, it's quite unlikely he'll ever call Philadelphia home. Isn't that always how these heavily-rumored deals go?
Kyle Kendrick was pulled out of his start today with the 'Pigs. Word is that it has nothing to do with any trade, though Kendrick might just benefit from one.
