Candeladeportiva.com is reporting that Pedro Martinez has been signed by the Phillies de Philadelphia after scouting him last week. Todd Zolecki [phillies.com/mlb.com] is reporting that Ruben Amaro Jr. has declined to comment on the report out of the Dominican Republic.
Time will tell as to whether the deal is real or not, so we'll just wait on that front. But some are already speculating that the Phillies will no longer pursue Roy Halladay in a trade. In my mind, that's not necessarily the case at all.
First of all, it is possible that Pedro would only be taking the place of Rodrigo Lopez, who left yesterday's game after five innings with some sort of shoulder strain. Second, it could be that the Phillies are taking on Pedro so that they would have the depth to include J.A. Happ, who many teams covet, in a trade for Halladay. Third, it could be that the Phillies are just trying to stockpile as many arms as possible.
You can question the merits of signing Pedro, certainly, but don't think it precludes a trade for Roy Halladay.
