Rivera was a lock to go into Cooperstown, though most expected that he’d still fall shy of unanimous enshrinement. That won’t be the case, however, as Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in saves (652), games finished (952) and ERA+ (205) was too clear a Hall of Famer for any voter to ignore. In addition to those three staggering numbers, Rivera retired with an 82-60 record, a 2.21 ERA, and an 1173-to-286 K/BB ratio in 1283 2/3 innings of regular-season work. Rivera was named to a whopping 13 All-Star teams over the course of a career that spanned parts of 19 seasons.

Of course, much of Rivera’s legacy is tied to his postseason heroics; the game’s premier reliever ratcheted up his penchant for domination in October (and November), pitching to a ludicrous 0.70 ERA with 110 strikeouts against 21 walks in 141 postseason innings. Rivera appeared in 96 postseason contests and racked up a workload that was roughly equivalent to two full regular seasons, and he somehow managed to limit opponents to just 11 earned runs in that time. He won five World Series rings with the Yankees and was named both an ALCS MVP and a World Series MVP during his illustrious career. It’s rare that players can be described with absolutism in a game as subjective as baseball, but it’s virtually unequivocal that Rivera is the best relief pitcher the game has ever seen.

Halladay, tragically, was taken from this world far sooner than his family, friends, former teammates and legions of fans could’ve imagined. The former Blue Jays and Phillies ace, a two-time Cy Young winner and eight-time All-Star, was killed when his single-engine plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico on Nov. 7, 2017. Halladay’s widow, Brandy, offered the following statement on behalf of her late husband:

Being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame is every boy’s dream.  To stand on that stage in Cooperstown and deliver your acceptance speech in front of baseball’s most enthusiastic fans is something that every baseball player aspires to achieve, and Roy was no exception.  But that was not Roy’s goal.  It was not his goal to have those three letters after his signature.  His goal was to be successful every single day of his 16-year career.  Tonight’s announcement is the end result of that effort.  If only Roy were here to personally express his gratitude for this honor, what an even more amazing day this would be.  I would like to extend special thanks to the baseball writers for the overwhelming percentage of votes that Roy received in his first year on the ballot.  It means so much to me, Braden and Ryan.

It’d be difficult to argue that Halladay isn’t a deserving candidate. Beyond his Cy Youngs and All-Star nods, the right-hander pitched to a 203-105 record with a career 3.38 ERA, a 2117-to-592 K/BB ratio, 20 shutouts and 67 complete games. At a time when baseball was moving further and further away from allowing pitchers to throw a full nine innings, Halladay stood out as a throwback who led the league in complete-game efforts in seven of his 16 seasons — including five in a row from 2007-11. Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs both valued his brilliant career at 65 wins above replacement. And while Halladay doesn’t have the lengthy postseason track record of Rivera — he logged a 2.37 ERA in 38 playoff frames — I’d be remiss not to mention the masterful no-hitter he pitched against the Reds in his postseason debut back in 2010. Halladay issued just one walk in an otherwise perfect showing, putting on a masterful display and further establishing himself as a big-game pitcher on a national stage.

The 56-year-old Martinez will be a controversial addition for some onlookers, given that he spent the vast majority of his career as a designated hitter. There’s little denying, however, that the Mariners franchise icon is one of the best pure hitters Major League Baseball has ever seen. Martinez won two American League batting titles, thrice led the league in on-base percentage and hit better than .300 in 10 separate seasons.

In all, Martinez retired as a .312/.418/.515 hitter with 309 home runs, 514 doubles, 15 triples, 2247 hits, 1219 runs scored and 1261 runs batted in. While his counting stats fall shy of what some consider to be Hall of Fame benchmarks (e.g. 500 home runs, 3000 hits), Martinez was consistently elite on a rate basis right up until the final season of his career. The seven-time All-Star was 47 percent better than a league-average hitter in the estimation of park- and league-adjusted stats like OPS+ and wRC+ (147 in each). Beyond that, he was the pinnacle of consistency, tallying an OPS+ of 140 or better in all but three seasons from 1990-2003 (with those three seasons including an injury-shortened ’93 campaign, the strike-shortened ’94 campaign and a 2002 season in which he posted a 139 OPS+).

Like Martinez, the 50-year-old Mussina perhaps falls shy of some long-considered “standard” Hall of Fame benchmarks, but he was a consistently excellent pitcher during the game’s all-time offensive peak. “Moose” retired with a 270-153 record, a 3.68 ERA and a 2813-to-785 K/BB ratio in 3562 2/3 innings of regular-season ball. A five-time All-Star who won seven Gold Glove Awards and had six top-five Cy Young finishes, Mussina was a true workhorse for the Orioles and Yankees over an 18-year career that included a decade-long peak during which he posted a cumulative 129 ERA+. Mussina topped 200 innings in nine straight seasons from 1995-2003, and he padded his Hall of Fame resume with another 139 2/3 innings of 3.42 ERA ball in the postseason.

Some may be surprised to be reminded that Mussina never won a World Series, as he joined the Yankees for the first time in the season immediately following their 1998-2000 threepeat and retired a year before their ’09 return to the top of the mountain. Nevertheless, Mussina was a consistent rotation stalwart who thrived in the midst of the steroid era while spending the entirety of his career pitching in the game’s toughest division.

We at MLBTR join the baseball world in mourning the loss of one of the generation’s greatest and most beloved talents. The Phillies and the Blue Jays have offered statements on Halladay’s tragic and untimely passing:

“We are numb over the very tragic news about Roy Halladay’s untimely death.  There are no words to describe the sadness that the entire Phillies family is feeling over the loss of one of the most respected human beings to ever play the game.  It is with the heaviest of hearts that we pass along our condolences to Brandy, Ryan and Braden.”

“The Toronto Blue Jays organization is overcome by grief with the tragic loss of one of the franchise’s greatest and most respected players, but even better human being. It is impossible to express what he has meant to this franchise, the city and its fans. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”

A two-time Cy Young winner, Halladay enjoyed a career that spanned 16 big league seasons, during which time he worked his way into the hearts of not only those in Toronto and Philadelphia, but of baseball fans around the globe. Halladay’s bulldog mentality, knack for completing his games and his uncanny ability to thrive on the biggest of stages made him an icon in the sport for more than a decade. Though he never captured a World Series Championship in his illustrious career, Halladay etched his name into postseason lore when he hurled a no-hitter against the Reds in his first-ever postseason appearance with the Phillies in 2010.

Off the field, Halladay was a multi-time nominee for Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award due to his extensive work with sick and underprivileged children. Halladay created the “Doc’s Box for Kids” program at Toronto’s Rogers Centre — a charity in which visitors from Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children were invited to enjoy Blue Jays games in a private and kid-friendly skybox, as Jordan Bastian detailed for MLB.com back in 2010. Halladay’s “Strikeout Challenge” with the Blue Jays also allowed Jays fans to pledge donations for each of Halladay’s strikeouts over the course of a season, with the proceeds going to the Jays Care Foundation to benefit sick children.

Halladay walked away from the game of baseball at the age of 36 as one of the sport’s most revered personalities and well-respected players. The eight-time All-Star was a workhorse and a warrior on the mound — a callback to generations past with his penchant for racking up 200-inning seasons and finishing what he started once he took the hill. Halladay completed more than 17 percent of the games that he started as a Major Leaguer. He is survived by his wife and two sons, both of whom have followed in their father’s steps as baseball players. Halladay helped to coach both of his sons’ teams in his post-playing days.

Though Halladay was taken far too soon, he’ll forever stand out as an icon in a game that he loved and made more enjoyable for all who watched him. He’ll quite likely take his place among baseball’s greats in Cooperstown in the near future. Our most heartfelt condolences are extended to his family, friends, former teammates and countless fans around the world. Rest in peace, Doc.

Here’s more from the NL East…

• The Phillies may have hoped that Thompson (wrist) and fellow righty Zach Eflin (knee) were a bit further along in their injury rehab timelines by this point, but at least the club is seeing progress, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. Both are throwing live BP sessions, with the possibility of reaching game readiness by next week. Eflin says he’s feeling stronger than ever as he continues working back from surgery to both knees, while Thompson says he’s healthy but is “still knocking off a little rust.” It remains to be seen whether either will be ready to open the season on time, but surely both are destined for Triple-A regardless.
• Matt Harvey’s spring debut for the Mets didn’t go as hoped, as Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News writes. There’s little reason to get too caught up in the uninspiring results, of course, particularly since Harvey says he was dealing with a stiff neck. (That could be its own source of concern, though it sounds as if it’s just a low-level problem and Harvey expects to make his next start.) The bigger concern, perhaps, is that Harvey was limited to working in the low-90s with his fastball. That, too, can be chalked up to the neck along with the fact that Harvey is still dialing in his mechanics after a long layoff. Club sources tell Ackert they don’t want the prized righty to come out of the gates too quickly anyway.
• Nationals ace Max Scherzer felt good in a live BP session today, as Pete Kerzel of MASNsports.com reports. The veteran righty is still using a three-fingered fastball grip to protect his injured finger, but that doesn’t seem to be slowing him down. Scherzer worked up to 44 pitches in the session, so it seems as if he could be ready soon for a Grapefruit League appearance.
• Another Nationals hurler, lefty Nick Lee, is looking at a much lengthier absence. As Kerzel tweets, the 26-year-old has been diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture in his left arm. Lee was hoping to spend the spring working to find the control that long has eluded him. Last year, he worked to a 4.32 ERA over fifty Double-A frames, striking out 9.9 and walking 7.6 batters per nine. The Nats obviously like his arm, as he had been added to the 40-man before losing his spot last summer.

• Catcher Carlos Ruiz will be key to the Phillies’ likely transition from a rotation built around Lee and Cole Hamels to one built around youngsters like Aaron Nola and Jesse Biddle, Ryan Lawrence of the Daily News writes. “I believe you help make them comfortable and they’re going to show what they’ve got,” says Ruiz. “That’s one key, I always try to, and Chase [Utley], Howie [Ryan Howard], too, that way you talk to these guys in different ways and do [your] part.” Ruiz has two years plus an option remaining on the contract, but there’s obviously the possibility that the Phillies could trade him, just as they traded Jimmy Rollins and Marlon Byrd. Ruiz said he has spoken with his agent about that possibility but generally doesn’t worry about it much.
• Roy Halladay joined Lee and Hamels in the Phillies’ dugout while visiting with his old team on Monday, the Associated Press reports. Halladay, who retired following the 2013 season and is considering a second career as a sports psychologist, says he can relate to how Lee must feel in light of his injury. “Any time you can’t go out and do what you’ve done your whole life, it’s a challenge,” says Halladay.

Here’s more from the NL East:

• Injured Mets starter Zack Wheeler dealt with rather significant elbow pain last year, as GM Sandy Alderson has indicated and Andy Martino of the New York Daily News further reports. Per Martino, the team maintains publicly and privately that Wheeler’s UCL never was a matter of concern for the team, but he details some of the developments last year that raised red flags about the young righty’s health. Of course, as Martino is right to explain, there are not only many unknown details but also plenty of medical uncertainties in the world of pitching elbows.
• The Braves are prepared to announce a deal with Comcast involving the team’s new ballpark and mixed-use development, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. It appears that the cable company will occupy office space and provide technology services for the controversial new facility.
• Of course, that stadium opening is still years away, and the Braves are still working to resolve numerous roster matters before the start of the upcoming season. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman updates the situation in camp, writing that Jace Peterson appears to have the inside track on a 25-man spot, if not the starting gig at second base. The team has numerous infield and outfield slots still up for grabs.
• The Phillies have insurance on Cliff Lee’s contract and will have a chance to recover an unknown sum for the time he is expected to miss, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports. That will not match the return the team had hoped to be able to achieve if a healthy Lee had turned into an attractive mid-season trade chip, of course. As part of his rest and rehab plan, Lee will not even throw a ball for several months. While the decision not to undergo surgery was announced a mutual one between team and player, Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News tweets that all doctors consulted recommended surgery and that it was Lee’s decision not to pursue that option.
• As Lee faces the possibility of retirement, former teammate Roy Halladay says he is interested in pursuing sports psychology as a second act, as Zolecki reports.

• Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter links) asked Nationals GM Mike Rizzo if he’d consider trading Jordan Zimmermann.  The Nats have tried to extend Zimmerman twice and, like David Price of the Rays, he has two years of club control remaining.  “We’d certainly love to get something done with him. But like any premium guy on your team, if here is something that can’t be done, then you would think about a trade. But that’s the furthest thing from our minds,” Rizzo said.
• Colon’s age and history allowed the Mets to land him at a reasonable price, tweets Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors.  In Tim’s view, it’s easy to see him returning $20MM+ of value over the next two years. 
• Jerry Blevins found out that he was traded from the Athletics to the Nationals around noon time, according to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson (on Twitter). He was initially shocked because, unlike our readers, he did not pay attention to any of the trade rumors going on.
• The Braves were interested in Roy Halladay before he chose to retire and would like to add a veteran starter on a short-term deal, tweets Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press.
• Mets officials met with Ervin Santana’s people, but that appears unlikely in the wake of the Colon signing, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
• The Phillies didn’t meet with Bronson Arroyo yet and while that doesn’t necessarily preclude a deal, others are more serious about him, tweets Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Halladay, 36, has been hampered by shoulder injuries in each of the past two seasons and underwent surgery to attempt to repair the issue in May 2013. He returned to the mound for the Phillies in late August and made six more starts but still wound up posting an uncharacteristic 6.82 ERA in his final, injury-riddled campaign.

Halladay, affectionately referred to as "Doc," spent the better portion of a decade as one of the greatest pitchers of his time. From 2001-2011, Halladay pitched an even 2300 innings and posted a stellar 2.98 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and a brilliant 1.6 K/9. Despite pitching in two of baseball's most hitter-friendly environments — Toronto's Rogers Centre and Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park — Halladay yielded just 0.7 homers per nine innings in that time as well.

That peak run for Halladay saw him pile up accolade after accolade; Doc was named to eight All-Star teams, won a pair of Cy Young Awards and added in five other Top 5 finishes in the Cy Young voting — most recently finishing runner-up in 2011. Halladay finished in the Top 10 in NL MVP voting in both 2010 an 2011 as well.

Perhaps most famously, Halladay will be remembered for firing a no-hitter in Game 1 of the 2010 National League Division Series against the Reds, with a fifth-inning walk to Jay Bruce being the lone plate appearance preventing him from a perfect game. Just five months prior, Halladay had hurled a perfect game against the Marlins during the regular season.

Halladay's sudden retirement brings to close a career that will finish with a 203-105 record, a 3.38 ERA and 2,117 strikeouts in 2,749 1/3 innings pitched. Halladay's 67 complete games and 20 shutouts are a rarity in today's game of specialized bullpens, and they serve as a testament to the durability and mental acumen that allowed him to lead the league in innings pitched on four separate occasions. Baseball-Reference.com values his career at 65.6 wins above replacement, and Fangraphs is even more generous, rating him at 67.6 WAR. Halladay earned just shy of $149MM in his career, per Baseball-Reference.

Congratulations on a great career to one of the best of our generation, and best of luck in life after baseball, Roy.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

• David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweeted his skepticism of the Braves' reported interest in Raul Ibanez citing his age (41) and lack of available at-bats (if Atlanta's corner outfielders are healthy).
• The Nationals now appear to be targeting a backup catcher and left-handed bullpen help, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com tweets, suggesting Eric O'Flaherty as an option to meet the latter need. The connection with O'Flaherty corroborates a recent report from the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore.
• O'Flaherty is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and may not be available until May, but it won't scare off the Nationals, tweets Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com. 
• While the Nationals are making a strong run at O'Flaherty, the Phillies and Dodgers have also shown interest, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.
• Cardinals GM John Mozeliak provided his explanation of the rash of signings and trades prior to the start of the Winter Meetings to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold. "For us, it was limited opportunities," Mozeliak said. "Everything we looked at, everything we wanted to do, everything we found attractive was limited, and we knew that we had to move quickly to attend to those needs or perhaps miss on (the preferred targets) and have to reassess."
• The market for Roy Halladay has yet to develop, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
• Brian McCann, who grew up a Braves fan, tells MLB.com's Mark Bowman that he relished his time in Atlanta. "I got to be teammates with Chipper Jones, Tim Hudson, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz," McCann said. "I don't know if it gets much better than that, being from Atlanta." 

Aaron Steen contributed to this post.

• The Phillies intend to avoid more expensive free agents like Jacoby Ellsbury, Shin-Soo Choo and Brian McCann in favor of "mid-level" free agents, CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury reports.  The Phillies are wary of how much it would cost to sign Nelson Cruz, Carlos Beltran or Curtis Granderson even though they like all three players.
• Also from Salisbury, the Phillies have discussed signing Franklin Gutierrez, Marlon Byrd, Joaquin Benoit, Joe Smith and Bronson Arroyo.
• GM Ruben Amaro told reporters (including Salisbury) that the team could wait to see what kind of a market there is for Roy Halladay's services before deciding whether or not to pursue the former Cy Young Award winner.  “We’re keeping our eyes open on him. We’re not sure how the market is going to develop for him. But we haven’t ruled out bringing him back," Amaro said.
• The Phillies have "long-standing interest" in Mike Morse and see Morse as "a potential Jayson Werth-like late bloomer," CSNPhilly.com's Corey Seidman writes.  Despite this interest, Morse could just be a backup plan for the Phillies if they can't sign a more higher-profile hitter.
• Carlos Ruiz could make a decision about his next contract soon, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (Twitter link).  We heard earlier this week that the Phillies wanted a quick decision from Ruiz so they could figure out their catching situation.
• If Ruiz doesn't re-sign, Morosi tweets that John Buck could be a more realistic backup plan for the Phillies than A.J. Pierzynski.  Not only would Buck be cheaper, Philadelphia is in need of right-handed bats.
• Trading Domonic Brown and bringing back Ryan Madson are two of the topics addressed by MLB.com's Todd Zolecki as part of a Phillies-centric reader mailbag.

• Almost everyone sees Robinson Cano staying put with 19 votes for the Yankees, one vote for the Dodgers, and one for the Cubs.  Nearly everyone sees Cano getting a seven- or eight-year deal worth $160MM-$230MM and no one expects him to approach the $300MM figure he was asking for from the Bombers earlier this year.  It should be noted that the GM that picked the Cubs said that he has no inside info to support that pick.
• Nine execs see Masahiro Tanaka landing with the Dodgers while six chose the Yankees.  All but a handful of those surveyed think his payout will exceed the $60MM Yu Darvish got from the Rangers.  Tanaka is ranked as the top available pitcher by MLBTR's Tim Dierkes.
• Seventeen of the 21 participants in the survey say David Price will get traded this winter.  Where will he land?  The Rangers got nine votes and the Dodgers got four nods with one vote each for the Nationals, Cardinals, Angels, and Astros.
• Opinions were somewhat split on whether Jacoby Ellsbury or Shin-Soo fChoo will provide better value over the course of their next deals.  Twelve execs said Ellsbury, eight voted for Choo, and one GM declined to vote, saying that neither one will match what they get.
• When asked to pick the best pitcher between Matt Garza, Ervin Santana, and Ubaldo Jimenez, ten execs chose Garza.  Most seemed to agree that the lack of quality starting pitching available will lead to all three being overpaid.  One American League scout seemed to like Jimenez on some level but was skeptical of him long-term.  "Ubaldo has the best chance to give you impact in the short term, but I am not buying him over the course of 3-4 years," the scout said.
• When asked which former Yankees prospect has a better chance of succeeding elsewhere with a change of scenery, Phil Hughes was the overwhelming choice over Joba Chamberlain.
• Crasnick asked the execs which aging pitcher had the most left in the tank between Roy Halladay, Hiroki Kuroda, and Tim Hudson.  Kuroda had the backing of 12 people surveyed, Hudson got eight votes, and Halladay had just one exec in his corner.  "Maybe the chances of [Halladay] coming back aren't real good if you look at it objectively," a scout said. "But if the guy wants to [keep pitching] and be successful, I wouldn't put it past him."

• Sergio Santos' contract no longer looks as team-friendly as it once did, but the Blue Jays aren't missing Nestor Molina, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Molina has struggled with the White Sox since being sent to Chicago in exchange for Santos, and Santos' final two months were healthy and dominant. Santos tells Nicholson-Smith that his goal for 2014 is to stay healthy, which will be a key if he's to have any chance at seeing his $6MM option exercised.
• Starting pitching is still the team's top priority this offseason, but an upgrade at catcher has leapfrogged left field for the team's No. 2 priority, writes MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm in his latest Blue Jays Inbox. Chisolm notes that the free agent market will be expensive and competitive and adds that the Jays are interested in Wilson Ramos of the Nationals, though he would be an expensive trade target himself (in terms of prospects). Still, Chisolm writes that GM Alex Anthopoulos "seems determined" to make an upgrade behind the dish.
• Anthony Gose could slot into the fourth outfielder role that will open up with Rajai Davis' departure, but Chisolm notes that he's also one of the team's top trade chips. Gose could also move into a starting role should a starting outfielder be traded.
• The Blue Jays felt that Emilio Bonifacio couldn't handle playing the infield on the turf at the Rogers' Centre due to his poor footwork and limited range, writes Chisholm, which is why they essentially gave him to the Royals. He'd have been non-tendered this winter, Chisholm adds.
• Chisolm also addresses the free agent market, noting that the Jays aren't likely to break their policy of limiting free agent deals to five years this offseason and aren't likely to pursue a Roy Halladay reunion as they need more certainty in a starting pitching acquisition.

"I try not to think in absolutes with him. If we think he’s going to be a viable possibility for us, we’d like to try to bring him back. I’d like to think it’s not the last we’ll see of Doc."

Halladay's struggles began in 2012, as he was limited to just 159 1/3 innings of 4.49 ERA ball by a strained lat muscle that cost him nearly two months of action. This season, after trying to pitch through shoulder pain and barely cracking 90 mph with his fastball, Halladay gave in and underwent surgery in May. The operation removed bone spurs in addition to repairing both his rotator cuff and labrum.

Lawrence notes that Amaro conceded any deal for Halladay would have to be one in which both parties share the risk, or in other words, an incentive-laden deal. The Phillies already face uncertainty in their rotation beyond aces Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels; Cuban righty Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez projects to occupy one spot but hasn't thrown a Major League pitch before, and Kyle Kendrick saw his own season come to an end due to a shoulder injury.

When I asked last week in a poll, just 29 percent of you said the Blue Jays should extend Johnson a qualifying offer this offseason after an injury-marred 2013. This season was certainly a disappointing one for the right-hander, as his 6.20 ERA was the worst of his career if you ignore 2007, when he threw just 15 2/3 innings. However, I made the case that Johnson was among the most unlucky starters in baseball this season, as 18.5 percent of his fly balls went for home runs. That's likely to fall, as it's double his career mark of 8.2 percent.  When Johnson's healthy, he can be as dominant as any starter in baseball, as his lifetime 3.40 ERA attests to. He's just rarely healthy for a full season. Any acquiring team will hope that the 29-year-old can recapture some of his 2010 magic, when he managed an acceptable 183 2/3 innings and led the NL in ERA.

Halladay's 2013 mark of 6.71 ERA in 61 2/3 innings was one of several troubling statistics for the right-hander in 2013, a year that also saw his average two-seam fastball velocity fall to just 88.7 mph. That's a concerning figure for a 36-year-old who missed significant time with a shoulder injury. Halladay's 5.0 BB/9 rate and 1.8 HR/9 rate were also his highest since 2000, when he was in his early 20s. At this point in Halladay's career, we may just be seeing the decline of a pitcher whose right arm logged more than 1,400 innings over a six-year period from 2006-2011. However, there's also no ignoring the fact that he has two Cy Young Awards to his name. If Halladay can prove that he's healthy, that sterling resume is sure to loom large in the evaluation process for many clubs.

In Johnson and Halladay, we have two starters who succumbed to injuries in 2013 but are likely to draw significant interest as former top-of-the-rotation starters. Johnson has dominated in the past when healthy, and though he hasn't had the career Halladay has, he has youth on his side at age 29. Halladay is a much older 36, but he was also among the best pitchers in baseball over that 2006-2011 span. Who would you rather have?

• Ruiz would like to return to Philadelphia, writes Salisbury in a separate piece, and the organization has taken note of his recent surge at the plate, with GM Ruben Amaro Jr. stating that Ruiz looks far more relaxed. Pitching coach Rich Dubee, who knows Ruiz quite well, feels that Ruiz is best limited to 100 games behind the plate at this point in his career, however.
• Ben Lindbergh of Baseball Prospectus writes that Darin Ruf is exceeding expectations of scouts and talent evaluators with his production at the big league level so far. Lindbergh's piece includes an excellent interview with Ruf, conducted last week, in which Ruf discusses what scouts thought of him, his limitations on the field and his journey from senior sign/20th-round pick to a potential long-term asset for the Phillies. "I’m probably a bad person to ask prospect-type questions because, I don’t know, I never was one," Ruf candidly replied at one point in the interview.
• Roy Halladay and Kyle Kendrick will force the Phils to make tough decisions this offseason, writes MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. The Phillies have four more starts to evaluate Halladay's progress from shoulder surgery, but as Amaro noted to Zolecki, it's possible that Doc won't be at full strength until next spring. Amaro and his staff will have to decide whether or not to bring Halladay back on an incentive-laden deal or seek a more certain commodity.
• Likewise, the decision on whether or not to tender Kendrick a contract that could approach $8MM via arbitration is no easy decision. Kendrick has never been on the disabled list, Zolecki noted in a different piece, a trait that would make him desirable to other teams should the Phillies non-tender him and try to sign him for less money. Dubee agreed: "If something doesn't happen here, I'm sure there's going to be plenty of seekers. He's durable. He hasn't missed a start all year. Those guys are highly sought."
• Zolecki also adds that left-hander John Lannan is likely to be non-tendered by the Phils this offseason following surgery on his left knee.

• Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has backed himself into corner where he may not be able to significantly upgrade the team's talent next year, which puts interim manager Ryne Sandberg in a shaky situation and may make him the wrong man at the wrong place at a very wrong time for his long-awaited turn at being a MLB manager, writes the Times of Trenton's Barry Federovitch.
• Another big decision the Phillies have to make is whether to re-sign Roy Halladay, who will be a free agent this winter. Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines the Phillies have taken too many risks, health and talent-wise, in recent years which did not work and should not keep another risky proposition like Halladay around even if the price seems right. 
• FanGraph's Dave Cameron, in an ESPN Insider subscription-required piece, names Halladay and fellow NL East right-hander Dan Haren as part of an interesting free agent class: broken-but-perhaps-fixable formerly great pitchers.
• There is a "strong expectation" Terry Collins will continue as the Mets' manager in 2014, a source familiar with the situation told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The source added there is internal respect for how Collins has navigated this year's challenges. Rubin reasons, by not committing to Collins now, it protects the front office in case there is a serious swoon or an unforeseeable major event during the season's final month.
• Ike Davis may not be as fortunate. He will most likley miss the remainder of the year with a strained right oblique and is in jeopardy of being non-tendered this winter, writes Rubin in two separate articles. Rubin compares Davis' situation to that of right-hander Mike Pelfrey who was non-tendered last December when the Mets did not want to risk the raise on his $5.7MM salary. Davis is currently earning $3.125MM and Rubin sees a 2014 salary in the neighborhood of $3.5-4MM; but, with so much money coming off the Mets' books, it might be palatable to carry such a salary rather than non-tender him if no trade materializes.