Halladay, Lee and Lackey close to joining new teams
By the end of the day, three of the game’s top pitchers could find themselves on new teams for 2010.
Putting aside the rumors of a three-way trade involving BOTH Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee, as well as multiple reports that John Lackey will soon sign a free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox, we pose a simple question to fantasy owners:
Which pitcher would you want most on your fantasy keeper team?
Roy Halladay is the oldest of the group at 32. The 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner has a 148-76 career record (.661) and 3.43 ERA. He is coming off a 17-10 season with the Blue Jays. But he seems to be pitching better now than he has at any point during his career. He’s racked up over 200 strikeouts in each of the past two seasons and has led the AL in K/BB ratio at 5.28 and 5.94.
LaTroy Hawkins signs with Milwaukee Brewers
Free-agent setup man LaTroy Hawkins signed a two-year, $7.5 million contract Wednesday with the Milwaukee Brewers — Hawkins agency, Reynolds Sports Management, confirmed via Twitter.
Hawkins, 36, was 1-4 with a 2.13 ERA, including 11 saves in 65 appearances last season with the Houston Astros.
After intense negotiations with the Astros and a handful of other teams — believed to be the Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays — Hawkins and his agent, Larry Reynolds, were disappointed that Astros general manager Ed Wade and the organization wouldn’t offer more than a one-year deal.
In the end, Hawkins believed Milwaukee presented him with the best opportunity.
Despite being a Type A free agent, the Brewers don’t have to surrender draft picks for signing Hawkins, since the Astros didn’t offer the right-handed reliever arbitration Dec. 1.
