New York (AP) — On a day like no other in baseball history, two Cy Young Award winners in their primes changed teams.
The
four-club, nine-player megatrade became official Wednesday, with the
Toronto Blue Jays sending 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay to
the Philadelphia Phillies, who in turn dealt 2008 AL Cy Young winner
Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners.
Halladay got a $60 million,
three-year contract extension through 2013 in exchange for waiving his
no-trade clause, and Toronto paid Philadelphia $6 million as part of
the swap. Seven prospects changed hands, with Oakland also part of the
mix.
"This is where we wanted to be," Halladay said at Citizens
Bank Park in Philadelphia. "It was an easy decision for me. Once the
opportunity came up for me to be part of this, it was something I
couldn't pass up."
Two Cy Young winners had never been traded on the same day. And that wasn't the only big deal.
Boston
finalized an $82.5 million, five-year contract for pitcher John Lackey
and a $15.5 million, two-year agreement with outfielder Mike Cameron.
The Red Sox also must figure out whether the Mike Lowell-to-Texas trade
will go through and have been discussing whether to acquire Adrian
Gonzalez from San Diego, a deal that could send Clay Buchholz and/or
Jacoby Ellsbury to the Padres.
"I was always interested in coming
here. Winning was definitely my first priority of a team to go to,"
Lackey said. "I've been knocked out of the playoffs a few times by
them. I know I'm going to have a chance to win here, and that means a
lot."
World Series MVP Hideki Matsui finalized a $6 million,
one-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, ending his seven-season
run with the New York Yankees.
"This is the beginning of a new
journey for me," Matsui said through a translator. "I'd like to do my
best in every way I can to bring another world championship to this
team since they won in 2002."
The Yankees haven't been close to
making any moves since acquiring Curtis Granderson from Detroit last
week. New York, which planned to introduce the center fielder on
Thursday, is far apart from left fielder Johnny Damon, who has asked
for a $39 million, three-year deal.
The Baltimore Orioles landed
a proven lefty for the back of their bullpen, reaching a preliminary
agreement on a $12 million, two-year contract with Mike Gonzalez,
according to a person familiar with the negotiations.
The deal is
pending a physical, according to the person, who spoke on condition of
anonymity Wednesday night because the contract had not been completed.
The
31-year-old Gonzalez figures to get an opportunity to become
Baltimore's closer. He was 5-4 with a 2.42 ERA and 10 saves last season
for Atlanta. He has 54 saves in seven major league seasons, including a
career-high 24 with Pittsburgh in 2006.
Also on Wednesday,
Milwaukee completed a $7.5 million, two-year contract with reliever
LaTroy Hawkins. Detroit agreed to a $2.5 million, two-year deal with
infielder Ramon Santiago, who had been eligible for salary arbitration.
The
32-year-old Halladay, who has an offseason home near the Phillies'
spring training complex in Clearwater, Fla., is considered by many the
top starting pitcher in the major leagues. He was sent to the two-time
NL champions for three minor leaguers: catcher Travis d'Arnaud,
right-hander Kyle Drabek and outfielder Michael Taylor.
Philadelphia
dealt Lee to Seattle for three prospects: right-hander Phillippe
Aumont, outfielder Tyson Gillies and right-hander Juan Ramirez.
Toronto flipped Taylor to the Athletics for minor league third baseman Brett Wallace.
Philadelphia
general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. couldn't afford to add Halladay and
keep Lee, who can become a free agent after next season.
"If I had my druthers, I'd love to have both of them on the club," Amaro said.
Halladay
will make $15.75 million next year, and the amount of cash in the deal
almost covers the difference in salaries between Lee and Halladay.
"Did
I think we'd be getting a guy of this caliber? You always set your
expectations high," Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik said. "We're really glad
it came to fruition."
Halladay's extension pays $20 million
annually from 2011-13. There is a $20 million option for 2014 that
becomes guaranteed if he meets all three of the following: pitches 225
innings in 2013, pitches 415 innings combined in 2012 and 2013 and is
not on the disabled list at the end of the 2013 season.
"We
weren't sitting back and seeing what was offered. We asked for specific
players and were trying to get the best value that we could and that's
why we explored a lot of three-, four-, five-team deals," new Toronto
GM Alex Anthopoulos said.