With a little over a week before the trade deadline, hot stove rumors are flying. Many of them center around the New York Yankees, who have consistently made deals prior to the deadline. Many of these rumors center around the Yankees acquiring one of the two top players on the trading block, Blue Jay's ace Roy Halladay and A's outfielder Matt Holliday. While these two players would certainly make the Yankees a more potent team, I am going to analyze what a trade would mean in terms of each player's: Talent, Necessity, Value, and Price.
Roy Hallady
Talent
Generally considered the biggest name on the trading block, there is no doubting Roy Halladay's talent. So far this year he's 11-3 with a 2.73 ERA and 113 K's in 132 innings. He shows great control, only walking 17 batters this year, or one batter for approximately every 8 innings pitched. He's shown consistency too, pitching 200+ innings over the last three years, and a cumulative ERA of 3.53. He would easily be the ace of the Yankees rotation. However, were Halladay to join the Yankees, don't expect him to maintain that 2.73 ERA at hitter-friendly Yankees Stadium. For a reference point, in 2008 7.95 runs a game were scored at the Blue Jays' home stadium, Rogers Center, while this year 10.56 runs a game are scored at Yankees Stadium. Still, Roy's just as talented no matter in which stadium he's pitching, but don't expect the same gaudy numbers if Halladay is in pinstripes.
