Yankees officials have spoken to their Toronto counterparts enough to know they have prospects capable of landing Roy Halladay and that the Blue Jays will not trade their ace without giving them a chance to make the best offer.
Nevertheless, the Yankees remain bystanders rather than aggressive pursuers for arguably the AL’s best pitcher at a time when they have concerns about both their rotation and whether Halladay could end up with the Red Sox.
For now — like he was with Johan Santana two offseasons ago — Yankees GM Brian Cashman is averse to giving up both high-end prospects and a top-of-the-market contract extension to secure one player. In addition, Halladay will pitch at 33 next year, and an extension would further a condition that already scares Yankee executives: Having too many older (declining) players on huge contracts.
That is why one faction of the Yankee front office has advocated trying to trade for Halladay, but not extend his pact. That way they would get Halladay on a very good contract for 2010 ($16 million) and then offer him arbitration after the season to secure two draft picks as a way to recoup some of the prospects given up in the trade.
But that currently is not a strategy with much traction inside Yankee Stadium. The Yanks could change direction if Andy Pettitte does not return, though they believe he does want to pitch for them in 2010. Yet even in that scenario, the Yankees worry about their starting ranks.
The reward for using CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Pettitte exclusively in a postseason three-man rotation was a championship. But the season stretched into early November and recent history has shown a carry-over effect on pitchers asked to accept a heavy playoff workload.
Sabathia has thrown 779.1 innings the last three years, including the postseason. The only other starter over 700 innings is Halladay (710.1). Burnett just completed his first consecutive 200-inning seasons, totaling 455.2 innings overall the last two years. Pettitte was always tremendous at absorbing postseason innings and returning the same as ever. But his 225.1 innings was his most since 2005, he had shoulder problems late in each of the last two seasons and he turns 38 next June.
The Yanks might be able to live with Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain as the Nos. 4-5 starters, but if there were breakdowns above them they would have to climb in importance. The ideal antidote would be a healthy Chien-Ming Wang, but the Yanks do not have a lot of faith in his surgically repaired shoulder. That is why they are talking to Detroit about Edwin Jackson (Seattle remains the frontrunner) while considering a physical reclamation project such as Ben Sheets or Justin Duchscherer.
And it is why they also remain engaged, at least on the periphery, with Halladay.
According to officials from several organizations, the Blue Jays have yet to divulge exactly what it would take to land Halladay. That led a few executives to speculate Toronto is at a similar stance as in July when the asking price was a package fronted by three elite prospects.
It is possible that if no suitor budges Toronto could lower its price late in the offseason. Remember, Santana and Roger Clemens were both traded in February.
ESPN reported yesterday that Halladay has set a spring-training deadline to be dealt or else he will invoke his no-trade provision to block any trade. But outside executives consider that more rhetoric rather than something truly ironclad that would prevent, say, a July swap.
What is unknown is whether Toronto’s top brass is adamant against trading its most marketable player or, conversely, if someone such as player-friendly team president Paul Beeston has personally promised Halladay to put him on a contender before spring training.
Toronto has yet to fully show its hand, so the Yankees lurk on the outside as interested bystanders.
joel.sherman@nypost.com