Chase Utley admitted that it would have been cool had the Phillies somehow managed to keep Cliff Lee for the 2010 season.

In a perfect world, the Phillies would be the odds-on favorite to WIN the World Series.

Utley spoke to reporters Tuesday and said he looks forward to playing behind the Phillies’ new ace.

In his first public comments since The Trade, Chase Utley backed the Phillies' decision to acquire Roy Halladay.

“He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball,” Utley said. “Ive heard a lot of good things about him. Everybody I’ve talked to who’s played with him or against him has nothing but good things to say about him. His preparation is off the charts. I’m excited to see him work.

“Cliff Lee, I had a good time playing behind Cliff. Obviously, he pitched outstanding. Hopefully at some point I get to play with him again. But it’s a business. We all realize this now. Every year there are new faces in the clubhouse no matter what.”

Cliff Lee was disappointed to learn he was traded Wednesday.

“At first I didn’t believe it,” Lee said, according to Phillies.com and several other reports. “I thought we were working out an extension with the Phillies. I thought I would spend the rest of my career there.”

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the Phillies approached Lee about an extension, but couldn’t come to an agreement.

“We made what we thought was a pretty substantial offer. We had some preliminary discussions, but other than that … it was amicable. Like I said before, I just didn’t feel comfortable that we were going to be able to get to the finish line. And so we ended up moving toward the Halladay situation.”

It seems that Lee was willing to re-sign with the Phillies, but wanted at least four years in addition to 2010, which is the last year on his current deal. The Phillies have a long history of not signing pitchers to more than three years. Roy Halladay received a three-year deal on top of the one year remaining on his contract with Toronto.

“As I have always said, I get very uncomfortable with length [of contracts] on pitchers,” Amaro said. “Frankly, I wouldn’t want to go any more than four years. Three years has been kind of our standard on pitching, and I’d like to stay with that standard. That said, when you’re talking about a guy like Halladay who has the kind of track record that he has, sometimes special circumstances lead themselves to a different way of thinking. And that’s why we were comfortable guaranteeing four, including this year.”

Lee added that when Amaro told him the news about the trade, he thought that Amaro’s phone call was to further discuss the contract situation.

It’s official: Roy Halladay is a Phillie.

The Phillies acquired Halladay and $6 million cash in exchange for prospects Michael Taylor (OF), who was promptly shipped to Oakland for prospect Brett Wallace (1B/3B), Kyle Drabek (RHP) and Travis d’Arnaud (C).

The Phillies receive prospects Phillippe Aumont (RHP), Tyson Gillies (OF) and J.C. Ramirez (RHP) from Seattle.

The Mariners get Cliff Lee.

I  understand why some (most?) Phillies fans are baffled by the Roy Halladay-for-Cliff Lee trade. So, I’ll try to break it all down by arguing some basic points coming out of this deal …

Contention

 Cliff Lee was awesome last season. It’s stupid that we are trading our best pitcher.

Rebuttal

Yes, Lee carried the pitching staff and without him, a return trip to the World Series might not have happened. However, fans have to realize two things: A) Lee is a free agent after 2010 and he will not re-sign with the Phillies, and B) Halladay is better. Period.

Fact is, had we not traded Lee right now, we would get nothing in return of equal or greater value once he bailed for more money.According to reports, the Phillies approached Lee about a contract extension recently, and he declined. Simply put, he wants to test free agency.

In addition, from what I understand, Lee isn’t  thrilled to be in Philadelphia. In other words, I’m not so sure he’s ever been very comfortable here, which is yet another reason why the Phillies have zero chance to sign him.

Roy Halladay is better and he wants to be here. Look at the career numbers and compare. Some fans of the Phillies do not know Halladay, thus they are reluctant to trade Lee. Well, all I have to say is… just wait.  There’s a reason why Halladay is considered the best pitcher of this decade.

One more thing to consider: Lee wasn’t necessarily dominant during the regular season. After a strong start, he was awful from late-August to the end of September. I don’t think you’ll get a more consistently good-to-great pitcher than Halladay.

Contention

We could have kept Cliff Lee and traded Cole Hamels instead.

Rebuttal

Uh, no, we couldn’t.

Fact is, Lee was sexy trade bait because he’s earning an affordable salary and he’s in the last year of his contract. Hamels, on the other hand, is locked up for the next three seasons and is coming off a terrible year. Hamels’ trade value is at an all-time low.

Fact the facts: Cliff Lee was a one-year rental at best. On the other hand, we’re getting Halladay for at least four seasons.

Contention

The Phillies gave up a lot of prospects to get Lee. Now, we traded Lee and even more of our best prospects for Halladay. That’s dumb!

Rebuttal

On paper, yes, it appears the Phillies emptied their farm system for, essentially, one player.

But I’ll tell you to take another look. A harder look.

The Phillies, by most accounts, traded an average package of prospects to get Lee. I’m sure catcher Lou Marson will be a starter at some point, but what about pitcher Carlos Carrasco and infielder Jason Donald? Carrasco was horrendous in his September call-up, while Donald projects to be a career back up. The young flame-thrower, Jason Knapp, is coming off major surgery and is still four or five years away from the bigs.

Now, on to the Halladay deal…

I was initially disappointed to learn that Kyle Drabek, arguably the Phillies’ best pitching prospect, would be dealt to Toronto. I think everyone in the Philadelphia area  hyped up this kid to be The Next Big Thing … but, upon further review, the Phillies are getting two of the Mariners’ best prospects, INCLUDING THEIR VERY BEST, right-hander Phillippe Aumont, who is basically Seattle’s version of Drabek.

Outfielder Tyson Gillies is supposed to be the Phillies’ version of Michael Taylor, who is headed to Oakland.

So, all in all, it looks like a pretty fair trade.

Look at it this way: The Phillies are getting the best pitcher in baseball, one of the best pitching prospects in baseball (Aumont), two more quality prospects (Gillies and RHP Juan Ramirez) and $6 million cash!

In conclusion, this trade works well in the Phillies’ favor. Embrace the fact that Halladay is coming to town and will dominant the National League over the next several years.

Sounds good, right?

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, Roy Halladay has agreed to a contract extension with the Phillies. Terms of the contract are undisclosed.

Here’s the breakdown on the four-team blockbuster, which now includes Oakland

Phillies Acquire (from Toronto)

• RHP Roy Halladay
• RHP Phillippe Aumont  (minor leaguer)
• OF Tyson Gillies (minor leaguer)
• RHP Juan Ramirez (minor leaguer)
• $6 million cash

Toronto Acquires (From Philadelphia/Oakland)

• C Travis d’Arnaud (minor leaguer)
• RHP Kyle Drabek (minor leaguer)
• 1B/3B Brett Wallace (minor league)

Seattle Acquires

• LHP Cliff Lee

Oakland Acquires (From Toronto via Phillies)

• OF Michael Taylor (minor leaguer)

More reaction to come …

According to SI.com, Roy Halladay has been traded to the Phillies and will sign a contract extension.

The three-team deal could involve Cliff Lee heading to Seattle, but nothing has been confirmed, according to the report.

According to reports, including CSNPhilly.com, Roy Halladay and his agent are in Philadelphia today discussing a potential contract extension.

All indications are that a trade involving Halladay is imminent. The specifics of the deal are unknown at this time. However, the Phillies absolutely want to sign Halladay to extension before they make a trade.

Sources told CSNPhilly.com that Halladay could undergo a physical as early as Monday night. While Halladay has a no-trade clause in his current contract, he would waive it to come to Philadelphia,

OK… So what does this all mean? It’s very possible that Cliff Lee is a part of a mega three-way deal for Halladay.  Lee is attractive trade bait because of his desire to test free agency after 2010. However, it’s still possible that the Phillies would trade J.A. Happ and prospects (Michael Taylor, Domonic Brown or Kyle Drabek). I expect a major announcement in the next few hours …

• It appears the Phillies will not re-sign relief pitchers Chan Ho Park and Scott Eyre before the end of the winter meetings Thursday. Park remains the team’s No. 1 priority in terms of the bullpen, but according to multiple local reports, the Phillies seem willing to move on without Eyre because they believe Antonio Bastardo and Sergio Escalona have the potential to be effective left-handers out of the pen.
• Brandon Lyon’s asking price is too high, according to multiple reports. The Phillies were aggressively pursuing Lyon to be, perhaps, the closer if Brad Lidge falters next year.
• The Phillies have the pieces to obtain Roy Halladay in a trade. According to reports, the Phillies have had dialogue with the Blue Jays during the winter meetings.
• The Phillies have until Saturday to offer salary arbitration to right-handers Chad Durbin and Clay Condrey. Durbin, in all likelihood, will return.
• The addition of Ross Gload, signed late Tuesday, probably marks the “official” end of Matt Stairs’ tenure. Eric Bruntlett declined a minor-league contract last month and Juan Castro was signed to take his place.
• GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Phillies.com that Kyle Kendrick will “fight” for a spot in the starting rotation come spring training. Oft-injured, hard-throwing right-hander Scott Mathieson will compete for one of the bullpen spots.

The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that Roy Halladay could be coming to Philadelphia.

The Phillies are “very much in the picture” because ”Philadelphia is into winning now, and Halladay fits that,” said one rival team executive, according to the report.

Here we go again...

It is believed that the Blue Jays would not demand such a premium package considering Halladay is on the last year of his contract. A trade for Halladay would likely require stud  prospects Michael Taylor and Dominic Brown. Kyle Drabek remains untouchable, according to The Inquirer.

In addition to a top prospect (or two), J.A. Happ, Shane Victorino and Cole Hamels could also be discussed in trade talks.

So, Roy Halladay isn’t coming to Philadelphia.

I’m cool with it. Actually, I’m happy the Phillies didn’t have to give up their best prospects — pitcher Kyle Drabek, and outfielders Dominic Brown and Michael Taylor.

Instead, the Phils reportedly acquired Cliff Lee of the Indians for Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, Lou Marson and Jason Knapp.

Carrasco hasn’t panned out the way the Phillies had hoped. He’s been highly touted for years now, but hasn’t progressed well in the minor leagues.

Jason Donald burst on to the scene last season with a great year for Double-A Reading. He’s been injured and has struggled this year at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, batting only .236 with a .297 on-base percentage in 51 games. Not good.

The addition of Cliff Lee gives the Phillies one of the best one-two punches (with Cole Hamels) in the National League.

Marson also came on strong last year with Reading. Overall, he’s done well with the bat at Lehigh Valley (.297, 1 HR, 24 RBI, .382 OBP.) Defensively, Marson is average at best. He’ll be a solid major league at some point, but he’s no Joe Mauer…

Knapp is a raw talent, but many publications rank him as the No. 3 pitcher the Phillies had in the minors, behind Drabek and Carrasco. The 18-year-old was 2-7 with a 4.01 ERA at Single-A Lakewood.

Lee, meanwhile, is a proven winner. He solidifies the Phillies’ starting rotation. He and Cole Hamles give the Phillies one of the best one-two punches in the NL.

Questions are always asked by the team’s starting rotation. At this point, the Phillies have Hamels, Lee, Blanton and Happ to throw out there during the postseason. And which NL teams have a better 1-thru-4? Not many.

While it’s disappointing the Phillies couldn’t acquire Roy Halladay, they got a steal in Lee.