The Phillies’ chances of acquiring Roy Halladay have declined with each day.

A deal for Cliff Lee seems more likely and talks are heating up, reports Jayson Stark of ESPN.com.

Three Cleveland Indians scouts are watching top prospect Carlos Carrasco pitch in an 11 a.m. EST game for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. It appears Carrasco would be the key piece in a trade for Lee.

Cliff Lee isn't Roy Halladay. But he isn't Turk Wendel or Omar Daal, either.

The Phillies may be able to work out a way to avoid trading Kyle Drabek, the highly touted Double-A Reading hurler, as well as top position player prospectDominic Brown.

According to Stark, a package for Lee could include Carrasco, a top position-player prospect(Jason Donald, probably) and Class-A pitchers Jason Knapp and Trevor May.

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OK, so Ruben Amaro Jr. and the Phillies brass absolutely, positively, without-a-shadow-of-a-doubt WILL NOT trade Kyle Drabek to the Blue Jays. How do I feel about that? Not many Phillies fans would agree with me, but I’m fine with Lee instead of Halladay. The Phillies aren’t going to move Drabek and that’s that. Frankly, I’m already dreaming of a rotation that includes Cole Hamels, Lee, Happ and Drabek next season…. sounds good to me.

Lee isn’t some middle-of-the-road pitcher. He’s an ace. He’s a Cy Young Award recipient. He’s not THE top guy, but he’s not some stop-gap solution, either. He’s a guy that can get you deep into games and if the Phillies can get him without surrendering Drabek… go for it.