No time like present for Blue Jays to trade Roy Halladay (cont.)

Thus for what may be a five percent chance of making the playoffs in 2010, Toronto would be running out the clock on Halladay to his free agency after the 2010 season and putting itself in position to receive two compensation draft picks in June 2011, who probably would not be in position to help before 2013.

Remember that the players Toronto would receive in a Halladay trade, for the most part, would be close to major league-ready, and the Blue Jays would know a heck of a lot more about those prospects' abilities to handle pro ball than they would about two 2011 draft picks because, of course, those prospects would already be playing pro ball.

Toronto has not made the playoffs since winning the World Series in 1993. Sure, it's tough to tell your fans that a new plan will require even more patience. But selling them on 2010 is like selling them on finding water in the desert. You might, but it really isn't likely. To have any kind of sustained run, the Blue Jays have to turn Halladay into three or four significant pieces that will help the next really strong Toronto team, which is 2011 at the earliest.

3. Wrong place, wrong time: Among active players who have never reached the postseason, Halladay ranks 10th in service time. In interviews at the All-Star Game this week he tried to be diplomatic, but between the lines you could tell what he was saying was that it is the right time for him to pitch in important games.

Maybe Halladay is the type who can stay a highly effective bulldog into his mid- and late-30s. But the likelihood is that he is in the back of his prime now. And he is running the risk of never performing in the most meaningful games at his peak. He has to see the reality that with the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays in the AL East, the Jays are not contenders this year and probably not next year. So without a trade the first time he will get a chance to play for a potential champion is 2011, a season in which he will turn 34.

Halladay has been an elite pitcher for about a decade now. He has posted the kind of numbers -- 141 wins, 3.47 career ERA -- that, at the least, put him on a trajectory toward Hall of Fame consideration. He needs a few more years of excellence to legitimize his candidacy. But he also would be greatly helped if he played in either a bigger market and/or with a team that regularly plays huge games in September and October. For example, Curt Schilling's very good career is nudged significantly toward Cooperstown because of what he did in the postseason.

The Jays can act as if they don't care about such things; and obviously they must emphasize what is best for the organization. But Halladay has been the good solider for this franchise, a homegrown guy who has excelled on the field and has never caused any problems off of it. He has been a good teammate and ambassador. It would project the wrong message to everyone else on the team, or free agents who might consider playing for Toronto, if the Blue Jays do wrong by Halladay.

It is simply just the wrong place and time for Halladay to be in Toronto any longer.

Joel Sherman is a columnist for the New York Post. Read his Hardball blog Monday through Friday here. You can also follow him on Twitter here.