It’s the end of an era for the Toronto Blue Jays. No longer can the team boast a perennial award candidate or a player who would be taken in the first two rounds of your fantasy draft. Yes, Roy Halladay is gone. It may not be 100% certain yet, but the mere fact that the Philadelphia Phillies and Halladay have already agreed to a contract extension tells you all you need to know about the probability of the swap happening.
As part of the deal, the Phillies are sending their playoff hero and trade deadline gem, Cliff Lee, to the Seattle Mariners while Toronto receives a bunch of prospects – including a Canadian pitcher – for one of the best players to ever wear their logo.
Halladay’s departure was inevitable, but it’s still a shame to see such a great talent leave a city that is progressively caring less and less about the Great American Pass-time. It was abundantly obvious that Doc Halladay wanted to play for a winner and have a chance at the World Series, or much less, even the post-season, and that simply isn’t going to happen in Toronto. Playing in a division with the Red Sox and Yankees, the best that the Jays ever finished in the division was a lucky second, still far out of the wild card race.
The Blue Jays have been going through the start of a rebuild for a bit of time now, but the real question is: Will the fans stick around and keep this team afloat while it gathers its’ bearings? In the interest of the game, I sure hope so.