After weeks of speculation among national writers and fans alike that, despite all the posturing from both sides, J.P. Ricciardi and Ruben Amaro would wind up hugging it out and Roy Halladay would be heading for Philadelphia by Friday, Wednesday was a quick slap upside the head. The Phillies moved quickly to acquire reigning Cy Young winner Cliff Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco from the Indians for package of four minor leaguers, none of which were among the trio of players demanded by Ricciardi in the Halladay negotiations.
I don’t think this can be viewed as anything but a win for the Phillies, and especially for Amaro. In his first real pressure situation as GM, he added a Cy Young winner, filled a hole with a righthanded bench bat, and managed to hold on to his most important pieces for the future. Any time you can turn a weakness into a strength, it’s a good deal. Now, with Pedro Martinez set to make his Phillies debut sometime in the next two weeks, the champs are in the unfamiliar position of having too many starters. With the workhorse he’s been asking for finally in tow, I doubt Charlie Manual is losing sleep over that problem. For the Indians, they did the right thing by getting the best package they could for Lee now before losing value by not moving him, or losing him altogether after next year. GM Mark Shapiro learned the lesson the Twins discovered the hard way in the Johan Santana deal, a lesson that Ricciardi seems to be determined to ignore. With the Dodgers apparently out on Halladay, this deal makes the Phillies the favorite to come out of the NL again.
From the GTFO Department: The Phillies have an $9 million option for Lee for 2010. In February, the Phillies paid Adam Eaton $8 million dollars to go far, far away. Amazing, but in either case, money well spent.
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