Report: Phillies set to land Toronto ace Halladay

NEW YORK - Two-time defending National League champion Philadelphia has agreed to a three-team Major League Baseball trade that will give the Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay, Sports Illustrated reported Monday.

The Web site report, citing unnamed sources, said that the trade would also involve the Seattle Mariners as well as the Blue Jays, with star Halladay agreeing to a contract extension as part of the deal. While the Phillies would send off southpaw pitcher Cliff Lee to the Blue Jays in exchange, it is uncertain what role the Mariners would play in what would be the biggest transfer deal of the offseason.

Halladay, a 32-year-old right-hander, would power the starting rotation for the Phillies, who defeated Tampa Bay in last year’s World Series but lost to the New York Yankees last month in their bid to claim back-to-back crowns.

Lee was the stalwart of Philadelphia’s playoff run this year, winning the only two games for the team against the Yankees in the best-of-seven final.

Halladay, whose entire 12-year major league career has been spent in Toronto, has said he would like to play for a contending club.

The Blue Jays have struggled since their 1992 and 1993 World Series titles. Halladay, a six-time All-Star and 2003 Cy Young Award winner as top pitcher, was 17-10 last season with a 2.79 earned-run average and 208 strikeouts.

Despite that performance, the Blue Jays went 75-87 and finished 28 games behind the pace-setting Yankees.

According to a report by Sports Hochi, the Phillies are also close to signing Yakult Swallows relief pitcher Ryota Igarashi.

The Phillies are said to have offered Park Chan-ho a deal worth $3 million per season, but the player apparently turned down the deal.

In light of that failed effort, the Phillies are now looking at a two-year deal worth $2 million to $3 million for Igarashi. AFP