Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Phils officially announce Halladay, Lee trades

The Phillies have acquired right-hander Roy Halladay and cash considerations from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for minor league right-hander Kyle Drabek, outfielder Michael Taylor and catcher Travis d'Arnaud, Senior Vice President & General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. announced today. Additionally, Halladay agreed to a three-year, $60 million contract extension with the Phillies that includes a $20 million vesting option for a fourth season.

Halladay, 32, went 17-10 with a 2.79 ERA and nine complete games in 32 starts for Toronto this past season. He led the American League in complete games and shutouts (4), finished second in innings (239.0), third in ERA, tied for fourth in wins and quality starts (22), and was fifth in strikeouts (208). Halladay, who finished fifth in the AL Cy Young Award voting, had a 24.0-inning scoreless streak from September 20-30, which was tied for the second-longest streak in the AL, one inning less than Phil Hughes' league-best 25.0-inning streak.

"Without question, Roy is one of the top pitchers in the game today," said Amaro. "He has the talent, professionalism and makeup that embody what we look for in players and we're very happy to have him in a Phillies uniform for at least the next four seasons."

Since the beginning of the 2002 season, Halladay leads all pitchers in wins (130), complete games (46) and shutouts (13) and has the second-best winning percentage (.688). Over the last four seasons (2006-09), he has logged more innings (930.1) than any pitcher in major league baseball.

"Roy is known as the best pitcher in baseball and will have instant respect," said manager Charlie Manuel. "He's a number one, a blue chipper and I expect him to stabilize our pitching staff. Roy brings a great work ethic and tremendous character and he'll have a big presence in our clubhouse. As an organization, our goal remains the same - to get back to the World Series and win it again."

A six-time All-Star, including each of the last two seasons, Halladay won the AL Cy Young Award in 2003, when he went 22-7 with a 3.25 ERA in 36 starts. That year, he won The Sporting News' Pitcher of the Year Award and was named Most Outstanding Pitcher in the Players Choice Awards balloting. In 2008, he finished second in AL Cy Young voting.

Originally selected by Toronto in the first round of the 1995 draft, Halladay has a career record of 148-76 with 49 complete games and 15 shutouts in 313 games (287 starts) for the Blue Jays (1998-2009). Halladay will wear #34.

Drabek, 22, went 12-3 with a 3.19 ERA in a combined 25 games (23 starts) for single-A Clearwater and double-A Reading in 2009. He was the Phillies' first-round selection (18th overall) in the 2006 draft and is 19-10 with a 3.70 ERA in 50 games (47 starts) in his professional career.

Taylor, 23, batted a combined .320 with 20 home runs, 84 RBI and 21 stolen bases between Reading and triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2009. A fifth-round selection by the Phillies in the 2007 draft out of Stanford University, Taylor is a career .312 hitter with 45 home runs, 205 RBI and 44 stolen bases in 314 minor leagues games.

The 20-year-old d'Arnaud spent the 2009 season with single-A Lakewood, the South Atlantic League Champions, and batted .255 with 38 doubles, 13 home runs and 71 RBI in 126 games. In three minor league seasons, he is a .267 hitter with 23 home runs and 121 RBI.

Meanwhile, the team also announced the trade of left-hander Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for minor league outfielder Tyson Gillies and right-handers Phillipe Aumont and Juan Ramirez.

"It's never easy trading a player of Cliff's caliber, but we felt it was the right move to make at this time," said Amaro. "We've acquired three players that we think have big upsides and will strengthen our player development system."

Gillies, 21, spent the 2009 season with single-A High Desert where he hit .341 with nine home runs, 42 RBI and 44 stolen bases in 124 games. He batted leadoff all season and led the California League in stolen bases, finished second in runs (104) and on-base percentage (.430), tied for second in hits (170) and third in batting average. Gillies had an 18-game hitting streak during the 2009 season, which included nine straight multi-hit games.

Aumont, 20, went 2-6 with 16 saves and a 3.88 ERA in 44 combined games between single-A High Desert and double-A West Tennessee last season. He pitched for Team Canada in the 2009 World Baseball Classic and pitched a scoreless inning of relief after loading the bases with nobody out. A first-round selection (11th overall) by Seattle in the 2007 draft, Aumont is 6-10 with 18 saves and a 3.29 ERA in 59 minor league games (eight starts). He has 109 strikeouts in 106.2 innings (9.2 SO/9.0 IP).

Ramirez, 21, was 8-10 with a 5.12 ERA and one complete game in 28 games (27 starts) for High Desert in 2009. A native of Nicaragua, he was signed by the Mariners as an amateur free agent in 2005 and is 22-27 with a 4.12 ERA in 82 games (77 starts) during his professional career.

Lee was acquired by the Phillies from the Cleveland Indians on July 29, along with outfielder Ben Francisco, in exchange for four minor league players and went 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts for the club. In the 2009 playoffs, the 31-year-old went 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in five starts.

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