Conversations between Toronto and Philadelphia, said to be the front runner for acquiring Halladay, are in a stalemate because the Phillies will not part with top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek. The Blue Jays have repeatedly asked for Drabek along with J.A. Happ and Dominic Brown. The Phillies countered with a package that would include one or more of the following players; Michael Taylor, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson.

Toronto balked at the counter offer from the Phillies and sources claim that both teams are still in negotiations regarding Halladay but that talks turned nasty at one point over the weekend. The second team said to be in the running for Halladay are the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim but Toronto is said to be asking for three players on the Angels’ 25-man roster in return for Halladay.

Halladay, wherever he lands, will make a major impact on his new team if he is traded at all. Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi claims he really doesn’t think that Halladay will be traded by the time the 4pm Friday deadline arrives because he doesn’t believe that any team will want to part with the prospects they are asking for in return. If Halladay does change teams he will likely end up with the Phillies, Dodgers, or Angels. These three teams seem to be the ones that have the talent it will take to pry the Cy Young Award winner from the only team he has ever played for.

So what happens to the rest of the league if Halladay does not get traded or if the Blue Jays decide to hold onto him even if there is time left prior to the deadline? Many teams could turn to the Cleveland Indians and the Seattle Mariners. The Indians haven’t decided yet if they are willing to trade former Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee or hold onto him. The Mariners also aren’t sure if they are ready to part with Jarrod Washburn prior to the deadline. If teams are looking for a plan B then they could possibly turn their attention towards Lee and/or Washburn.

Other pitching options for teams looking for relievers include Baltimore’s George Sherrill, possibly the Reds’ Arthur Rhodes, the Diamondbacks’ Chad Qualls, the Nationals’ Joe Beimel and the Pirates’ John Grabow and Matt Capps. It is still difficult to determine whether or not there will be a flurry of minor trades by week’s end or if the Holliday to St. Louis trade will be the only blockbuster deal of the 2009 regular season.

The Philadelphia Phillies’ biggest surprise of the 2009 season is young left-handed pitcher J.A. Happ. During spring training, seven pitchers were fighting for five spots in the starting rotation. Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton were locks for the first four spots. The fifth spot in the Phillies’ starting rotation was a three player battle between Kyle Kendrick, Chan Ho Park and J.A. Happ. No one expected Happ to earn the spot, and no one ever expected the numbers that he would go on to put up when he eventually earned his way into the rotation. He has become a great compliment to an excellent rotation.

Who would have thought that out of the three players competing, Happ would be the one to go on and shine? Kyle Kendrick went 10-4 with a 3.87 ERA in 20 starts in 2007, his rookie year. He was a little less consistent in 2008, posting an 11-9 record with an ERA of 5.49 in 31 starts. Chan Ho Park brought a career record of 117-92 and an All-Star appearance on his resume. J.A. Happ had only made five career starts at the Major League level with a 1-1 record with 31 strikeouts in nine total appearances over the previous two seasons. Chan Ho Park would go on to win the fifth spot, Kyle Kendrick would be sent to the AAA to pitch on a regular basis, and J.A. Happ would make the Phillies’ roster as a relief pitcher, mainly used as a long reliever.

Chan Ho Park would struggle early on this season in the starting rotation. In his first six starts, Park had a 1-1 record with 22 earned runs. On top of that, Brett Myers would be lost for the season due to a torn hip labrum. J.A. Happ was given a chance to start, and he has been quietly outshining the rest of the pitchers in the Phillies’ formidable rotation. In 11 starts since taking over for Park, Happ has gone 5-0 with eight quality starts, pitching at least six innings and giving up three earned runs or less, including six in a row. That is the same amount of quality starts that ace Cole Hamels and Jamie Moyer, the ageless wonder himself, each have while starting the whole season.

Now the Phillies have four front line starters in Hamels, Moyer, Blanton and Happ. A fifth starter is on the way, as the Phillies have recently signed three time Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez. Martinez brings with him a 214-99 record, a very respectable 2.91 ERA and 3117 strikeouts in his career. He also brings experience, veteran guidance for the locker room and a World Series Championship that he won with the Boston Red Sox in 2004. The down side to this move, however, is his health. Pedro spent most of the 2007 and 2008 seasons injured, and he has yet to pitch in the Majors this year. Only time will tell if Pedro can still pitch at Cy Young caliber.

While the Phillies wait to see how well Pedro can pitch this year, and while they hope that Hamels, Moyer and Blanton can find some consistency, one thing is sure right now. J.A. Happ is the best pitcher the Phillies have. He is young but pitches with the poise and confidence of a skilled veteran right now. If he maintains his composure and continues to pitch at this rate, he could be looking at a Rookie of the Year award. It may be one of the quietest Rookie of the Year campaigns in Major League Baseball, but it cannot be overlooked. When a rookie pitches as good as, if not better, than a World Series MVP and a 20+ year veteran, it is very difficult to overlook him during Rookie of the Year conversations. J.A. Happ could become the first Philadelphia Phillies pitcher to win the Rookie of the Year award since Jack Sanford won it in 1957. That is if he isn’t traded to Toronto for Roy Halladay, but that is another story.