Could the Phillies have had Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee in the rotation?

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Could the Phillies have had Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee in the rotation?

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Ruben Amaro Jr. said they could have, but he said they needed to restock the farm system. And he said he needed to trade a talent like Lee to make it happen. I’ve been asked a lot about this being a simple salary dump, but it wasn’t. If Amaro were told, “You can get Halladay just as long as you clear $9 million from the payroll,” he could have found other ways to trim the budget. He could have traded Joe Blanton, who could make $7 million or more, and somebody like Greg Dobbs, who will make $1.35 million. There’s almost $9 million right there, and you still have Lee on the roster. But Amaro chose prospects over a 2010 super rotation with Halladay, Lee and Cole Hamels. Was that the right call? In the short term, we won’t know until we see how Hamels bounces back from a disappointing 2009. In the long term, we won’t know until we see what happens with Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies and J.C. Ramirez. If the three prospects contribute — really, truly contribute at the big league level —

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