Phillies land Oswalt; three prospects going to Houston
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Phillies land Oswalt; three prospects going to Houston
Bob Brookover and Matt Gelb
The Phillies have completed a three-player trade with the Houston Astros for righthander Roy Oswalt.
Lefthanded pitcher J.A. Happ, outfielder Anthony Gose and infielder Jonathan Villar are going to Houston.
Villar, who has been removed from single-A Lakewood's lineup tonight, is hitting .272 with two home runs and 36 RBIs. Villar, 19, has 42 errors in 99 games as Lakewood's shortstop but projects as a corner infielders down the line.
Gose, who turns 20 on Aug. 10, is hitting .263 with four home runs and 20 RBIs for single-A Clearwater. He has 36 stolen bases but has been caught stealing 27 times.
Happ, whom the Phillies have injury concerns about, has made three starts this season after finishing as runner-up National League Rookie of the Year. He is 1-0 with a 1.76 ERA in three starts. Happ, 27, strained his left elbow on April 15.
Happ was running on the warning track at Citizens Bank Park around 3 p.m. and was pulled aside by pitching coach Rich Dubee and the two entered a tunnel down the rightfield line.
The monetary details of the trade are still unknown.
The two teams have reportedly agreed on a way to handle the remainder of Oswalt's salary. ESPN is reporting the Phillies have asked the Astros to pay a "significant portion" of the $5 million Oswalt is due for the remainder of this season plus the $16 million Oswalt is due in 2011.
Then, of course, there is the $16 million club option for 2012.
That has been the sticking point all along, a baseball source told The Inquirer earlier in the week.
"Oswalt has [Astros general manager] Ed Wade and everybody else at his mercy because of that no-trade clause," the source said. "I know the Phillies thought they were close to having it done last week, but I think the difference was that option year."
More to come...
That seems like a great deal for the Phils. Makes you wonder if ownerships is kicking themselves for trading Lee. THis will leave the Phillies with only one lefty starter, but this is a move, if these are the players.— 76er- We are so lucky that Houston's front office is more incompetent than our own. If Happ/Gose/Villan for Oswalt and 11 million dollars is true, that's practically a robbery.— carrot
- It's Happ, Worley and Gose for Oswalt and $11 mil in salary... Thanks Ed!!— lasalleguy
- For the people who love Haap... my question to you is this if he was so great why did Charlie not use him as a starter in the playoffs and world series last year????— Bob65S
- Cliff Lee should still be phil— Serge_Matthews
- I like the deal. You are trying to win now, not in 5 years. The window is now and Oswalt helps you do that more than Happ (or Gose or whoever in the minors).— FireTMac&Wheeler!
- nilsen, there is no way they would be trading for Oswalt if they still had Lee.— phillyinsd
Grab that brass ring fellas when you got the chance. Makes Phils favorites at least the next three years.- Should the Phils win the WS, some of you Negative Nancys will be complaining how they should have won in 5 instead of 7 and will still be irate with Amaro. Give me a break, this Phillies team is AWESOME and Amaro should be revered in Philly for all he's done for the organization. This is why I moved from Philly, too much negativity.— aerussel
- Great deal for the Phils. You want to beat the Yankees, you have to work like the Yankees...Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels as a three-man rotation in the post-season is nails.— AJSer
Comment removed.- JUST DO IT— MIKEI
- any time you can trade a prospect for a proven winner, you do it. get over your obsession with young pitchers' potential. happ was never going to be anything more than a solid 3. even on his best days. this is a no brainer.— beetle
- @mrjetson The only thing sillier than your bleating about Cliff Lee is your ridiculous use of "fail." That word and that pitcher are 2009, get over both.— nyphilsphan
- I don't think you can argue with this trade. If they keep Singleton, that's awesome. This is Amaro calling a mulligan for trading Lee. Never should have done that, but at least he recognized his mistake and fixed it. Also, welcome Dom Brow. Thank you Shane for getting hurt when you did and keeping Werth in Philly for the stretch run. Check out my thoughts on it: http://therallycap.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/domonic_brown_phillies/— TheRallyCap
