There also are fewer performance questions about Halladay now than there were about Santana two years ago. Halladay produced sub-2.80 ERAs in each of the past two seasons. But in 2007, Santana sharply reduced the use of his slider, giving interested teams pause.

If Halladay truly wants out of Toronto, he could tell the Jays that he would not require an extension as part of a trade, lowering his acquisition cost. That was his position last summer, when he was still under contract for the 2010 season.

The risk now is that he could get injured in '10, damaging his free-agent value. Still, teams such as the Red Sox, Angels and Yankees would be more inclined to trade if they needed to part only with players, not tens of millions for an extension.

Little is known about Halladay's intentions; he grew up in a suburb of Denver, and might prefer to go to the west coast. His no-trade clause effectively gives him right to choose his next team.

The Red Sox would be wise to push hard for a rapid resolution on Halladay at a time when the Yankees have yet to set their budget for next season. Santana, though, was not traded until Feb. 2 in the 2007-08 offseason. The Twins' Bill Smith was a new G.M., just like the Jays' Alex Anthopoulos is now.

The Jays are motivated to move Halladay, but these will be complex, tricky, multi-layered negotiations.

It would be an upset if they ended anytime soon.