Update: The godfather, Peter Gammons reports the Rays have denied interest in swapping Davis + Upton for Halladay. However, his report doesn't deny the Rays did some tire kicking. which we would all expect them to do. It is fun to think about Halladay in a Rays uniform, but it remains highly unlikely that anything goes past the feeling out stage.
UPDATE: ESPN's Peter Gammons quips via the Hot Stove that "The Rays have flatly denied their interest in discussing Wade Davis and B.J. Upton for Roy Halladay."
In another Fox Sports report, The Rays are actively shopping Dioner Navarro and are likely to non-tender him if a deal isn't reached by Friday's deadline to tender a contract. Neither scenario, trade or non-tender, is a surprise.
The Rayshave asked Toronto officials about Halladay, according to one major league source, and might be willing to offer star pitching prospect Wade Davis and outfielder B.J. Upton.
Toronto could then flip Upton to a third team.
This isn't the first time that the Rays have shown interest in the Toronto ace. They made a strong push in July, sources said.
Halladay would need to waive his no-trade clause in order for the deal to happen, and it's not clear if he would be willing to do so. But he resides in the Tampa Bay area, so spending one season with the Rays could appeal to him.
So much for ragtag catchers and recycled relievers. While this report seems to come out of nowhere, it seems entirely possible that the Rays would show interest. As the report states, the Rays made a play for Halladay this summer, so it's natural that they would try again. As is the case with 99% of these scenarios it probably won't play out, but stranger things have happened.
For such a trade to take place, it would be a clear indication of the Rays ditching their "thinking long-term" efforts in order to hit big right now. This type of move would be very uncharacteristic of the Rays. Andrew Friedman has yet to acquire an established big name via trade, and it would be really hard to see him doing so within the division. A year of Roy Halladay would be great, but at the cost of three years of B.J. Upton and six years of Wade Davis, I just don't see him doing that.
The Rays could very well have interest in Halladay, but could also be doing their do diligence and seeing exactly what Toronto is asking just to keep tabs on the other teams vying for his services or try and raise the market for one of their competitors.