The Roy Halladay Sweepstakes Part Two have just became more interesting.  With rumors swirling that the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have both shown interest, joined by reports from the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this week, it seems like the Toronto Blue Jays – controller of the most sought after non-free agent – may have a tough decision ahead of them this winter. Reports say that the rumors now include the Chicago Cubs. The sad part is that this is not news. Any team with any interest in winning in 2010 is going to be looking at Halladay. The only question to be asked is who can afford him?

Halladay has a no-trade clause as part of his contract, which runs through the 2010 season, so any teams who want to get him have to go through the Blue Jays’ front office to get permission to even speak to him. It is certainly in Toronto’s best interest to allow it, since any team who wants Halladay will want him longer than one year, and discussing a contract extension with the right-handed precision-pitcher will yield a greater return for Canada’s team. The only thing Halladay has said in regards to his situation is that he wants to pitch for a contending team. For Halladay, money is not the issue.

Toronto seems committed to a minor rebuild in the near future. They have a solid core of young players to build around, but are missing some pieces that will push them into the next echelon. With Halladay at 32 years old, the best thing to do is to give up the face of their franchise for a handful of young players, at least one of whom is major league ready. This is where things get complicated. Not many teams will have enough that they’re willing to part with in order to satisfy the Blue Jays’ demands. We already saw this happen at last season’s trade deadline.

With a career 148-76 record and 3.43 ERA, Halladay is in the top group of pitchers in baseball. His endurance is also unmatched. He has 49 career complete games with 15 shutouts, and has finished in the top five in Cy Young voting every year since he won it in 2003. And he’s done all of this pitching in the American League East for a team that’s plagued by bad hitting. If Halladay can make teams like the Yankees and Red Sox look like tee-ballers, just imagine what he could do anywhere else.