Reports: Oswalt deal pending his approval
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Reports: Oswalt deal pending his approval
All that stands in the way of the Phillies' acquiring Houston righthander Roy Oswalt is his willingness to waive his no-trade clause, according to multiple reports in Houston this morning.
The Phillies would send lefthander J.A. Happ and prospects to the Astros in exchange for Oswalt, the reports say.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Oswalt has been told of the deal on the table and the terms. Of course, it is not a certainty that Oswalt approves the deal, even if he was the one who asked the Astros to move him to a contender.
Houston's Fox 26 had the initial report late last night.
The trading deadline is 4 p.m. Saturday.
Oswalt told reporters Wednesday that he would like to have some time to decide before the deadline, perhaps increasing the urgency for the sides to come to an agreement.
"You do need a little bit of time," Oswalt said, according to MLB.com. "I don't want it to be two hours before the Deadline and have to make a quick decision. I would rather have a little bit of time to think about it."
According to the Fox 26 report, the sides have agreed on how much salary the Astros are paying, and ESPN is saying it could be a "significant amount." Oswalt is owed about $5 million for the rest of this season and $16 million next season.
It is unclear whether the Phillies have agreed to pick up Oswalt's $16 million option in 2012. He has indicated a willingness to restructure his contract in the right situation. Of course, that option year would put a major dent in what is already shaping up to a big payroll for 2012. The Phillies have $40 million combined due to Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay alone.
Phillies officials were not available this morning for comment. Houston GM Ed Wade has declined comment.
Foxsports.com reported earlier this week that Oswalt was unwilling to come to Philadelphia and did not want to pitch on the East Coast.
Oswalt told the Houston Chronicle, in response, "That's not an issue. Like I said from the beginning, it's going to have work for both of us."
Oswalt is 6-12 with a 3.42 ERA in 129 innings with 120 strikeouts this season. His arrival would give the Phillies a strong 1-2-3 punch at the top of their rotation with Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels.
The Astros are off today and Oswalt is scheduled to pitch Friday night at home against Milwaukee. If the deal happens, Oswalt would leave the Astros franchise one shy of the team record for wins (144) held by Joe Neikro.
Initially, reports indicated that the Phillies and Astros were looking for a third team, possibly Tampa Bay to be involved in the deal. That no longer became the case when the Phillies could not trade rightfielder Jayson Werth, following Shane Victorino's injury earlier this week.
Happ, who returned to the big leagues Sunday after missing most of the season, was drafted by the Phillies in the third round in 2004, when current Astros GM Ed Wade was still the Phillies' GM. He is scheduled to make $470,000 this season and is still several years away from free agency. The Astros have scouted Happ twice over the last week and a half.
The Phillies have talent at the lower levels of the minors and the Astros have scouted Lakewood, including a visit from Wade himself. The package figures to be heavy on pitching, rather than position players. Speculation has that Vance Worley, who was with the Phillies over the weekend and started at Triple A Tuesday night, could be included.
Interestingly, the Phillies keep saying that you can never have too much pitching and they keep ending up with less depth than they started with each move.
Sounds interesting. As long as Oswalt's back doesn't give out I'd pull the trigger on this one.— krupps58- 6 and 23?!?! proof reading is good, proof reading is good....— spittooncj
i would rather have halladay, lee, hamels, happ as my top four starters. how 'bout a closer.— kdub13- Had Lee, didn't want to pay him, tried to banish him to the Northwest, got an uninspired group of kids, the rotation proved not be nearly dominant enough to go deep into october, the phillies have to get another top of the line starter, they have to trade more of their prospects even though seven months ago the future needed replenishing, so now they are rumored to be giving up something superior to what they traded for and receiving a pitcher inferior to the guy they gave away. Way to think that one through Ruben.— alwaysanotherview
Comment removed.
This still leaves a hole in the starting rotation. They're obviously assuming they're already in the post season. Hope that's the case. Otherwise it would have been better to do nothing and keep the kids.
Oswalt for Happ is fine. After that it depends who the prospects are. If the Astros are looking to dump some of Oswalt's salary, maybe the Phillies won't have to give up much more. BUT, the whole deal still underlines the stupidity of the you-know-who trade. The Phillies are going to end up paying as much if not more for Oswalt than for you-know-who, who is a better pitcher.- I'm split on this. I'd like to keep Happ and get Oswalt, but not sure I want to gvie up Happ for Oswalt. Why not give up Singelton? He is a first baseman. With Howard signed until 2099, where the heck is he going to play? Halladay, Oswalt, Hamels, and Happ.— stop2think
- Don't be a wimp, approve the trade— furio
- "It's the bullpen stupid". . . As long as Oswalt can go all nine innings like Halladay everything should work out. Oswalt will be shocked when and if he comes here to see the sad state of Brad Lidge's fastball.— Dull
- It is supposed to involve Singleton who has a chance to be a stud in the Bigs one day. But, he is a first baseman and that psotion will be blocked for at least the next five years with Howard so I guess that is why they are willing to do it. That said, I hope the report is wrong as I would like to keep Singleton.— matty177
- Caltaldi and friends just reported two interesting facts. One is that Cliff Lee maintains regular contact with multiple current Phillies and has told them repeatedly throughout the year he never wanted to leave, and that after this season he'd still give them the first shot to sign them. The second was that apparently Bret Myers and others are discouraging Oswalt from accepting a trade to the Phillies. Apparently Myers had a bad relationship with Rich Dubee and has told Oswalt that he should hold out until the deadline and force a trade to St. Louis or Texas.— jas157
- No one outside of the Phillies and Astros deal makers know who the prospects are. If they're like the prospects given to Cleveland for Lee I'd say its a pretty good deal for the Phillies. Halliday, Oswalt and Hamels as your starters in the playoffs has to look pretty intimidating. But I'd wait to see who blinks first in the picking up the option year. You can finish out in Houston this year with no playoffs and no option year picked up or sign with the Phils, be in a playoff hunt and probable trip to the playoffs with no option year picked up. Your choice Mr. Oswalt but the Cubs and Indians are also looking to unload some pitching so, we're talking to them too.— cupajoe
- So we're throwing away Happ and prospects for a more expensive, injury prone, good pitcher because we traded away a cheaper good pitcher in the offseason for prospects. Good job Ruben. Has Amaro made a trade yet with a team that doesn't have a connection with the Phils management? (Toronto, Seattle: Gillick; Cleveland: Manuel; Houston, Wade)— awl
- There's an awesome story on foxsports.net this morning asking WTF Rube is/was thinking. It about sums up what 90% of Phillies fans were saying about the Lee trade and now this.
