Despite the fact that Roy Halladay would immediately make the Phillies a more dangerous team than they already are in the National League, there are some drawbacks. The drawbacks are few and somewhat inconsequential, but they exist none the less. First, the Phillies would not only be adding approximately 20 million in salary commitments in the next 15 months, they are also subtracting cheap players as well. Here is a list of all contracts and obligations for 2010 courtesy of mlbcontracts.com.
Ryan Howard : 19 million, Brad Lidge: 11.5 million, Chase Utley: 11 million, Raul Ibanez: 11.5 million, Jimmy Rollins: 7.5 million, Jamie Moyer: 6.5 million, Cole Hamels: 6.65 million, J.C. Romero: 4 million, Jayson Werth: 7 million, Ryan Madson: 4.5 million, Greg Dobbs: 1.35 million. That adds up to 71.5 million for 11 roster players. That does not include the arbitration raise Victorino will get, Ruiz’s money (minimum), a 5th starter, Scott Eyre’s spot, Chan Ho Park’s spot, Matt Stair’s spot, a backup catcher spot, Clay Condrey’s spot, Chad Durbin’s spot, Eric Bruntlett’s spot, John Mayberry, Jr’s spot (presumably him, yet he hits breaking stuff much the same way as Pedro Cerano), Pedro Feliz’s spot (UFA with either a 500K buyout or 5 million club option), Joe Blanton’s spot (arbitration). That, however, does not include the loss of nearly 15 million due to Geoff Jenkins and Adam Eaton’s contracts ending. The final tally for 2009 will fall somewhere in the 140 million range if Halladay is brought on.
The hope in any organization is that youngsters like Mayberry Jr., Sergio Escalona, Lou Marson, Carpenter/Carrasco/Worley/Knapp can fill in holes when FA’s depart. For instance, if Halladay replaces the 12 million coming off the books due to Myers exiting someone has to take the spot that Pedro Martinez/Rodrigo Lopez is/are holding down. Same with Paul Bako’s spot, Scott Eyre’s spot, etc. Trading away a lot of youth can hinder a teams ability to continue to plug in young TALENT not just young cheap players. Hopefully Michael Taylor and some of the aforementioned names can pick up roster spots, and perhaps a player or two (Werth, Victorino, Romero??) will be traded. So keep in mind that while I am not discouraging the Phillies from making this move (and they certainly are making plenty of money as evidenced by all the sell outs and the subsequent one’s to follow), you do have to consider the organizational ramifications. The Phillies should be fine giving up the prospect list being discussed because of good drafing and scouting recently, but bear in mind trades like this are not possible every year. In fact, one every five years is probably a good idea.
Correction: The Phillies have approx. 91 Million locked up for next year in 11 players. That number would jump if Halladay and his 15.75 million were added, or Cliff Lee’s 8 million. Those figures also do not include Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton, Brett Myers, and Scott Eyre. Myers and Eyre are UFA, and Victorino and Blanton are arbitration eligible.