This Day in Baseball History
2009 - Phillies acquire Roy Halladay, trade Cliff Lee in separate deals
The Philadelphia Phillies acquire one Cy Young winner and trade another away in a flurry of moves that involve four teams and nine players.
Roy Halladay joins the Phillies from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for a trio of top prospects, immediately inking the 32-year-old to a three-year, $60-million extension.
"This is where we wanted to be," Halladay said at his introductory press conference. "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."
Halladay, who owns a Cy Young award and has made six All-Star appearances, had never made the postseason in 12 seasons with the Blue Jays and comes to Philadelphia with World Series aspirations.
"I think the older you get, the longer you play in your career, the more important that becomes," Halladay said. "The more I play, the more I realize how important that is to me."
While Halladay's time with the Phillies begins, Cliff Lee's ends.
The left-hander was packaged to the Seattle Mariners for three prospects as Phillies general manager restocked a farm system in exchange for Lee's expiring contact.
"If we had just acquired Roy and not moved Lee, we would have been in position to have lost seven of the best 10 prospects in our organization," Amaro said. "That is not the way you do business in baseball."
Phillies receive:
| Pos. | Player | From |
|---|---|---|
| P | Roy Halladay | Toronto |
| P | Philloppe Aumont | Seattle |
| OF | Tyson Gillies | Seattle |
| P | Juan Ramirez | Seattle |
| $6 million cash | Toronto |
Mariners receive:
| Pos. | Player | From |
|---|---|---|
| P | Cliff Lee | Philadelphia |
Blue Jays receive:
| Pos. | Player | From |
|---|---|---|
| C | Travis d'Arnaud | Philadelphia |
| P | Kyle Drabek | Philadelphia |
| 1B/3B | Brett Wallace | Oakland |
Athletics receive:
| Pos. | Player | From |
|---|---|---|
| OF | Michael Taylor | Philadelphia |
Major signings on this day
1996 - Rangers sign John Wetteland to a four-year, $23-million deal
2003 - Orioles sign Miguel Tejada to a six-year, $72-million deal
2008 - Phillies sign Raul Ibanez to a three-year, $31.5-million deal
2009 - Angels sign Hideki Matsui to a one-year, $6.5-million deal
2009 - Red Sox sign John Lackey to a five-year, $82.5-million deal
2012 - Tigers sign Torii Hunter to a two-year, $26-million deal
Birthdays
1964 - Billy Ripken
1982 - Chris Britton
1983 - Tom Wilhelmsen
1986 - Alcides Escobar
1986 - Bryan Anderson
1987 - Hector Santiago
1989 - Tyler Chatwood