Roy Halladay is the biggest story in Philly sports today. To offer a few perspectives on a potential trade, I’m going to drop a few links on you. From Toronto, the Globe and Mail is understandably reserved and conservative about the prospect of losing Halladay, regardless of how much they get in return. If the trade does happen and you’re a Blue Jays fan, the thing to remember is that there will be a ton coming back at you and Halladay is 32, so the window for his continued success is smaller than what the prospects bring. Furthermore, for a team that needs more than a pitcher to compete, Toronto would be getting (presumably) multiple position players who would contribute 162 games per year as opposed to one dominant pitcher who’s on the field every 5 days.

Both Jim Salisbury at the Inquirer and David Murphy at the Daily News are salivating over the dreamy right-hander wearing red pinstripes. Obviously, his acquisition by the Phils would make them the team to beat in the N.L.; regardless of how ugly a Phils’ win of their division may turn out to be, Halladay’s inclusion in the starting rotation challenges the front-loaded arms of the Giants (Lincecum and Cain), the team they’d play first if the season ended today.

And Jon Heyman at si.com sees the Phillies as the most logical place for Halladay to end up. Buster Olney said the same thing this morning but I think it’s important to keep this distinction in mind, fans: at this point the Phillies are not the front-runner for Halladay (implying we know there are negotiations that favor them over other teams), rather the pundits seem to think a Halladay-Philly connection simply makes the most sense.

For my part, I feel like it’s an easy decision for the Phillies to go after Halladay while keep their talent wallet wide open during negotiations with Toronto. The most coveted pitchers in baseball with established track records are Halladay, Beckett, Sabathia, Santana, Oswalt and Lincecum. Of the bunch, Halladay is the only one whose team is willing to part with him at this point so he has to be considered the best pitcher available. For a team defending a World Series with questionable starting pitching, it’s a no-brainer. After all, the Phils are in their prime; if they gamble on Halladay and win another Series in the next 3 seasons, it will have to be considered a good deal regardless of that they will have given up.