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Halladay, 32, has a no-trade clause that will allow him to dictate whether he will be dealt before he becomes eligible for free agency next fall.
"He's open to at least listening," said Ricciardi. "He's not going to be a guy who will let you do all the work [preparing for a possible trade], and then he's not willing to listen. If it makes sense, he will listen."
The Jays' situation with Halladay is much like that which faced the Minnesota Twins during the 2007 season with ace Johan Santana: The left-hander was set to become eligible for free agency in 2008, and after Santana turned down an offer from Minnesota, the Twins dealt him to the Mets.
Halladay is eligible for free agency after the 2010 season, and so the Jays essentially will have three windows of opportunity in which they could consider dealing the former Cy Young Award winner -- in the 24 days before the July 31 trade deadline; during the offseason; or next season.
And the Jays have begun the process of casting a line in the water to see what they could get in return for the right-hander, whose work ethic is as highly regarded as his ability.
"We're not inclined to move him, but we're going to see what's out there," said Ricciardi.
If Halladay walks away as a free agent after the 2010 season, the Jays would get the equivalent of two high draft picks as compensation, so that level of value would be a starting point for any interested team. Halladay would fit any team, of course.
Right now, the team most aggressively searching for a frontline starting pitcher is the Philadelphia Phillies, who no doubt would covet Halladay for their particular park for his ability to generate ground balls and missed swings -- he has a ground ball/fly ball ratio of 1.30, to go along 98 strikeouts in 116 innings this season. The question about the Phillies -- as it is with most teams these days, when the value of young players has never been higher -- is whether they would be willing to give up what the Jays would require in trade.
The Boston Red Sox could afford Halladay and know first-hand that he is capable of pitching effectively in the AL East -- something they and the New York Yankees doubted about Jake Peavy -- but Boston has stubbornly clung to its young pitching, and might be reluctant to trade a package of prospects for Halladay. The Yankees have been devoted to the rebuilding of their farm system, and would have to swap some of the young stars they have developed to get Halladay.
Both Boston and the Yankees dabbled in the Santana trade talks, but neither front office was fully invested in the pursuit of the left-hander, who was three years younger than Halladay is now.
The New York Mets may or may not have the caliber of prospects that the Jays would require to make the deal; the same could be said for the Chicago Cubs. The Jays would want one of the Dodgers' best young starters for Halladay -- either Clayton Kershaw or Chad Billingsley -- and that figures to be a deal-breaker for L.A.
Halladay, who is 10-2 with a 2.79 ERA for the Jays this year, is earning $14.25 million this year, and will make $15.75 million next season.
Interim CEO Paul Beeston declined to comment on dealing Halladay but did say the team's payroll for next season is still a work in progress. The Blue Jays have $82.45 million committed to Halladay and seven others next year.
"We will be getting into it over the next month," Beeston said. "We'll be looking at next year, we'll do a three-year plan and a five-year plan as best we can project it."
The only salary commitments the Blue Jays have between 2011-14 are to Vernon Wells, Alex Rios and Aaron Hill worth about $40 million per season.
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