OPINION

By Chris Bahr

updated 9:10 p.m. ET Nov. 25, 2009

The Roy Halladay sweepstakes that began (and ended) in July are back on, and it appears new Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos is determined to deal his ace — out of necessity. Halladay will be a free agent after the 2010 season and has announced his intention to test the free-agent market.

There obviously is plenty of interest in the six-time All-Star, workhorse and former Cy Young winner. Everyone from the up-and-coming Rangers to the World Series champion Yankees are drooling over Halladay, but which team needs him most? In order, those teams are:

1. Dodgers. Their lack of an ace was glaring in the 2009 postseason. Free agent John Lackey is probably out of the team's price range, especially with the ownership situation in limbo because of the pending divorce of Frank and Jamie McCourt. Clayton Kershaw has the stuff to develop into an ace, but he isn't there yet. And the enigmatic Chad Billingsley has too many bouts with inconsistency. Randy Wolf could leave as a free agent, as could Jon Garland and Vicente Padilla. Thus, the rotation has several holes, but the main one is at the top. Los Angeles has the young talent to pry away Halladay, and a case can be made that Halladay can be the difference between another NLCS loss and a trip to the Fall Classic.

2. Red Sox. Once again in pursuit of the Yankees, the Red Sox can go one of two ways. They can sign Lackey and put together a package of young talent to entice the Padres to trade them Adrian Gonzalez, or they can add a third ace to a rotation that already features Jon Lester and Josh Beckett. One thing Boston can't afford to do is sit idly by and slip further behind New York. Because the Red Sox still need to pay Jason Bay (or a replacement) to play left field, trading for Halladay makes a lot of sense. Especially when you consider Halladay is 18-6 with a 2.84 ERA in 37 games (35 starts) vs. the Yankees in his career.

3. Mets. Like the Red Sox, the Mets also have offensive needs to address. Unlike the Red Sox, however, they have only one reliable starting pitcher. Banking on the likes of John Maine (shoulder problems) and Oliver Perez (control problems) isn't the formula for overtaking the Phillies in the N.L. East. Nor is pursuing Joel Pineiro or Jason Marquis in free agency. A 1-2 punch of Halladay and Johan Santana would rival any in the N.L. and leave the team free to focus on adding offense. Of course, New York must be willing to sacrifice a couple of top prospects.

4. Rangers. Much like the Dodgers, the Rangers' ownership situation is in flux (Tom Hicks' financial woes). And perhaps even more so than the Dodgers, the Rangers have plenty of young talent to dangle. Texas made big strides in 2009 and was among the teams that inquired about Halladay before the July 31 nonwaiver trading deadline. Nothing developed, but with the Angels potentially losing several key players to free agency, the Rangers could make big strides by adding Halladay to a young and improving rotation.

5. Angels. Even with Lackey likely to sign elsewhere, the rotation situation isn't as dire as it might seem. Los Angeles still has Jered Weaver, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and Scott Kazmir. It could sign a second-tier starter and be just fine. But with the potential free-agent losses of Vladimir Guerrero and Chone Figgins, the Angels' top priority in free agency might be offense (and they still have a bullpen to solidify as well). A trade for Halladay would cement the Angels' status as A.L. West favorites and pull them one rung closer to the Yankees in the A.L.

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