TORONTO -- Roy Halladay will make what could very well be his final start for the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday and J.P. Ricciardi threw out this little nugget for fans to digest beforehand: The team is only looking to trade the ace right-hander because he intends to test free agency.
Despite the general manager's protestations to the contrary, Thursday's revelation was big news and should add an interesting dynamic to what sets up as an emotional contest versus the Tampa Bay Rays.
"I think I made this clear real early that Doc wanted to test the free agent market. That's the whole reason we're going down this avenue," Ricciardi said after his team's 5-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians.
"This has been a joint venture. This hasn't been like we're out there talking and Doc's not included in the process. He's obviously expressed an interest that when free agency comes up next time, he's going to at least be attracted to trying to see what it is."
Halladay's loyalty and dedication to the organization have never been in doubt, two things that have made him beloved to the long-suffering faithful.
Ricciardi, who also said Halladay had provided him a list of teams he would approve a trade to, seemed to imply that the 2003 Cy Young Award winner had forced his hand, and the reaction when he takes the mound will be intriguing to gauge.
Halladay himself declined to address the matter, offering only that, "I'm not addressing it, I don't even know what he said. I'll (talk) after I pitch."
Since going public with his invitation for Halladay offers just over two weeks ago, Ricciardi has maintained that the team simply wanted to gauge the market while on occasion saying: "We're not so sure we're going to be able to keep him off the market."
That's different from saying Halladay actually wants to test the market. But he reiterated his stance that keeping Halladay in 2010, when his contract expires, is not a problem, and pulled out his oft-repeated "gut" feeling that no deal will happen.
"If we don't trade him, we still have a very good player and we still have a chance to have a very good team next year, and we still get two draft picks (if Halladay leaves as a free agent)," said Ricciardi. "If we're wowed, we'll think about it.
"And my gut is that we don't get wowed."
For his part, Halladay has said thinking extension or what teams he would go to was too far down the road for him. The fact that he wants to test free agency suggests he doesn't believe his sole remaining goal of winning a World Series can happen in Toronto.
During the media frenzy around him during the all-star break, Halladay hinted at that when he said "everything has to go right. It's just so hard for any of us to say it's going to be this year or this year or this year."
"I think that if he thinks in the situation we're in we can't get past the Yankees, the Red Sox and maybe Tampa, then he would like to try to do something somewhere else," said Ricciardi. "That's the only way I can see it."
On the trade front, Ricciardi said talks were "a little bit more heated up" and that a few new teams -- the Tampa Bay Rays said to be among them -- have stepped into the mix. For some of them, the big dollars remaining on Halladay's contract, he's making US$14.25-million and is due $15.75 million in 2009 -- may be an issue for them.
"I think some of those teams are interested, they're trying to maybe move some pieces that they have to acquire the player," Ricciardi said. "They've got to go through their exercise but that's not our problem."
The Blue Jays have scouts watching the prospects of several teams -- one took in Philadelphia Phillies touted righty Kyle Drabek's start for double-A Reading on Wednesday -- laying the groundwork ahead of the loose deadline of next Tuesday for finishing off a Halladay trade.
That deadline can be pushed back if enough legwork is done ahead of time.
"If we're down the road with something, obviously the deadline can fluctuate," Ricciardi said. "If we're not down the road by (Tuesday), nothing's going to happen."
Should Halladay remain a Blue Jay, Ricciardi doesn't expect any difficulties in having him around in 2010. That would likely prevent a total stripping down of the club and mean the team will try to make the run at the playoffs it pitched to season-ticket holders last winter.
"I think Doc understands that if we don't move him, he's a Blue Jay," said Ricciardi. "He's willing to stay here and play and then when he becomes a free agent, if we went to him with an extension, he'd probably say I'd rather take a chance and see what free agency is, and we would then become one of 30 teams, as opposed to be the one that had the right to keep him away from that.
"I don't think we've given up on anything. I think we're exploring the fact that the player has told us that he wants to try to become a free agent. We're doing our due diligence in finding out what we can possibly get in the way of a trade. If the trade doesn't make sense for us than Roy stays here in '10."