After dropping out of the Roy Halladay sweepstakes in July due to their unwillingness to include shortstop Erick Aybar in a package, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have reportedly once again resumed their quest to land the former Cy Young Award Winner.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Angels are still unwilling to deal Aybar, who hit .312 with 58 RBI, while playing solid defence, but are expecting the any deal to start with a young starter, either Jared Weaver, Joe Saunders or Ervin Santana.
The Angels reportedly walked away from former Blue Jays' general manager J.P. Ricciardi's offer of either Saunders or Weaver, along with Aybar and prospect Peter Bourjos in July, but are now back in talks with Toronto for several reasons.
First of all, the Angels best pitcher John Lackey is a free agent, and while the two sides continue to talk, should the Angels fail to sign Lackey they will be without a legitimate number one starter.
There is also a belief that the Blue Jays' new general manager Alex Anthopolous would be willing to make a deal that didn't include Aybar. In addition the fact that Anthopolous is willing to give teams a window to sign Halladay to extension - something that Ricciardi wouldn't do - makes 'Doc' even more attractive in a trade.
Angels' general manager Tony Reagins could not be reached for comment when contacted by the Times.
In 11 seasons with the Blue Jays, Halladay has a 148-76 record with a 3.43 earned-run average.