 |
|
|
| |
« Minor Moves: Diaz, Ardoin | Main | Trade To Padres Likely For David Wells »
Oswalt Cashes In
Given the possibility of Roy Oswalt leaving the Astros after the 2007 season, the club decided to lock him up for a very long time. Oswalt's five-year, $73MM deal averages $14.6MM annually with a complete no-trade clause.
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
It's backloaded, of course, with salaries of $15MM in 2010 and $16MM in 2011. The concern with Oswalt is his size and workload. Last year he threw 269 innings, and it was 256 in '04. At least this year Houston should miss the playoffs and give him a bit of a break.
Baseball Prospectus says Oswalt should be worth about $11.3MM in '07, and then it's a downward spiral to $6MM in 2010. This deal will likely prove to be quite the financial burden near the end; the Astros apparently did not learn their lesson after the Jeff Bagwell contract.
Then again, Oswalt could certainly defy the projections. The key to survival for him into his late 20s and early 30s will be the continued transition away from power pitching. He's got a career low strikeout rate this year, but you wouldn't know it from his 3.25 ERA and 1.21 WHIP.
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/447826/32119182
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Oswalt Cashes In:
Comments
Search MLBTR
MLBTR Features
Recent Posts
Rumors By Team
Monthly Archives
Live Chats
Tuesdays at 2 p.m. CST
His K/9 might be lowering, but his K/BB hasn't declined at all and his G/F is right near his best. He might already be making that transition away from power pitching you suggest he needs.
Posted by: Jobu | August 30, 2006 at 05:47 PM
Yeah, I think you're right.
Posted by: RotoAuthority | August 30, 2006 at 05:50 PM
But you know what this ultimatley means?
Hello Payday for Barry Zito.
Posted by: Zonis | August 30, 2006 at 06:52 PM
Wells update-http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2006/08/wells_update_1.html
interesting that St Louis would fall out with Mulder now done for the year the Red six reallu do need a good young catching prospect
Posted by: Kramerica Industries | August 30, 2006 at 07:35 PM
If I were an Astros fan, I'd be scratching my head at this one. For a team that can never go out and get the big bat it desperately needs (gee, let's make Preston Wilson our big free-agent signing), it sure has a lot of money to throw at pitching. That seems like an odd thing to say, but they proved in the W.S. last year that you can have great pitching, but if you can't score runs, you're not going to get the ring.
The only way this makes sense is if they get out of the Clemens and Pettitte contracts for good and use that money for some offensive help, like Carlos Lee. A rotation of Oswalt, Backe, a couple of their kids, and a back-end wanderer like Corey Lidle might not be too bad.
Posted by: CubsAddictMG | August 31, 2006 at 03:39 AM
In defense of the astros... though I'm not sure why I'm defending them. Wilson was a low risk high reward who simply didn't do anything. There biggest problm was they saved a wad of cash convinced Clemens would come and save them...
Pettitte's probably gone next year or at least cheaper. The Stros probably will make a serious run at Lee, I heard something about how he wants to stay in Texas.
Posted by: start_wearing_purple | August 31, 2006 at 07:45 AM
Well, CubsAddict - you could flip everything you say around: "For a team that can never go out and get the big pitcher it desperately needs, [Texas/Seattle/etc.] sure has a lot of money to throw at hitting." What's so bad about doing it this way?
I'll always take the team with better pitching in the postseason. Last year in the series it was a combination - didn't they score 5 or 6 runs in at least a couple of the games?
I don't think the Oswalt contract is a bargain for them by any means, but it's not too bad. To continue my Zito bashing, it's certainly better than whatever he'll get.
I don't know if Oswalt and crap is good enough, even if they really improve the offense. They pretty much need at least one solid #2-3 guy. I'm not sure if Hirsh is ready for that yet.
Posted by: bobo | August 31, 2006 at 09:47 AM
bobo, I'm willing to bet anything that Zito gets a better deal. With heavy hitters like the NY teams, Boston, and anyone else with money will be lining up, especially if Schmidt will stay on the West Coast. Furthermore he's a Boras client, the guy must have been selling icemakers to eskimos in his last life...
Posted by: start_wearing_purple | August 31, 2006 at 02:02 PM
Oh, no - purple - I agree. I meant that the Oswalt deal is a better signing (for the Astros) than Zito will be for whoever ends up with him.
Sorry if that wasn't clear.
Posted by: bobo | August 31, 2006 at 05:20 PM
I don't see the Red Sox going after him, putting in some bids to up the cost to whoever else lands him, but actually wanting to shell out the money for him I highly doubt.
Posted by: ArodSucksAtLife | September 01, 2006 at 05:15 PM