The Chicago Tribune's Mark Gonzales is reporting that Astros ace Roy Oswalt has asked Houston owner Drayton McLane Jr. to be dealt before the July 31 trade deadline. Astros GM Ed Wade confirmed Oswalt's request to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Oswalt said last week that he was "open" to a potential deal and would waive his no-trade clause if he could join a contending team.
Oswalt has been rumored to be possibly the top starter available at the deadline, and after a somewhat shaky 2009 season, he has looked like his old self this year — a 2.66 ERA and 3.75 K/BB ratio in nine starts, though his record is just 2-6 for the last-place Astros. The right-hander is guaranteed to earn $15MM this season, $16MM in 2011, and will require a $2MM buyout of his contract for 2012, a club option for another $16MM. It's a steep price for a pitcher who will be 33 in August.
We've already heard that the Mets might not have the money to make a play for Oswalt, though given their recent struggles, they might not be looking to add players at the deadline anyway. Atlanta, St. Louis and Texas are reportedly Oswalt's top preferences for a new team.
Not surprising at all
Isn’t this old news and other outlets have reported this like weeks ago? I think I heard it on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight.
And when did he actually formally request a trade? Not weeks ago.
It wasn’t reported on this site until now because nobody actually watches Baseball Tonight.
This has put a smile on the faces of all Reds fans.
They shouldn’t smile yet. He is still owed a lot of money which means that a trade of him may not happen.
Hopefully they can now begin the long dull, but exciting climb to rebuilding.
Teams tell the “Stros, “Eat some of his contract, and want not much talent back.”
Yep. That is what Baseball Tonight’s insiders said a week or two ago when they first reported this.
They reported he was open to a trade, but to request a trade is different, he now is not saying he’ll wait and if it happens it’s ok, now he’s openly ASKING to get out of Houston.
The best place for him is in the NL, going to the AL will cause him trouble.
You’d have to be crazy to think that they will eat his contract AND not want much talent back. One or the other, maybe, but not both.
He is an ace, a clear #1 starter who is having one of the best April/May of his career. Sorry, I know you all want your teams to get him for peanuts, but it’s not going to happen.
Braves are set with pitching, especially better pitching than the Astros.
Huh? I wasn’t saying anything about the Braves.
“I know you all want your teams to get him for peanuts”
^^That clearly is pointed at all teams.
Lowe and Kawakami aren’t so great…
I’d love to see Oswalt a brave…
In my opinion, he’s just as good or better than any pitcher we have.
Tommy Hanson disagrees.
I’m pretty sure the report from a couple weeks ago was just Oswalt saying that he was open to a trade (which is the same thing he’s said the last 3 years). This is the first time I’ve seen it reported that he’s actually requested a trade.
I hope he goes to the Rangers. They do have some pitching depth but no one like Roy who can just plug in the top of their rotation for the rest of the season. Move Harden or Feldman to the pen and you get two upgrades for the price of one.
I would like that too…but it’s highly unlikely considering the Rangers’ ownership/financial problems.
not gonna happen. and if he did i can see him struggling. Putting Oswalt, who will give up some homers, in one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks is not a great idea.
New York Mets, your 2010 season is before you.
I think it would be fun to see the Nationals make a play for him if they’re still in contention. Highly unlikely, and probably not something they should be doing in terms of their long-term strategy, but it’s just fun to see cellar-dwelling teams rising to respectability. With Strasburg and Oswalt, they could potentially have a strong 1-2 combo. They could scrap together a 3-5 with Marquis, Hernandez, Olsen, Lannan, etc.
And next year, a Strasburg-Oswalt-Zimmerman-Marquis-Lannan/Olsen rotation wouldn’t look too shabby.
On a realistic note, depleting their farm system now to take on large payroll isn’t something that makes a lot of sense, but hey, just speculating for fun.
More realistically, I’d say any team with a shot at contending in the AL Central could use him, though the White Sox should focus more on offense obviously. Mets make the most sense on the NL side of things it seems like.
They have the pieces to get him in the minors. The question is whether he would approve the trade, and whether Washington is still in contention closer to the deadline.
The Tigers have payroll flexbility next year to maybe take on Oswalts salary,and him and Verlander would be nasty, the problem is, why spend 16mm and empty the farm on Oswalt when you could get Cliff Lee for probably 18mm?
Because you only have to be paying Oswalt for his age 33 and 34 seasons at $15MM (pro-rated) and $16MM, while with Lee you’d likely have to pay for his ages 33-36/37 seasons at a higher annual salary.
The increased salary, years, and Lee’s injury history make him a considerably riskier investment. Plus, Lee’s going to have his pick of where he wants to pitch pretty much. There’s no sure thing he opts to go to Detroit, especially not if bigger markets get in on the fun and start throwing out big time dollars.
Still, the teams Oswalt makes the most sense for as an upgrade are the Tigers, Rangers, Twins, Mets, Nationals, and Dodgers, though not all of those teams can afford to take him on.
On a strictly homer basis, I’d love to see the Twins put something together to help push the Tigers out of the picture and give us a better playoff rotation. Oswalt-Liriano-Baker looks a lot better than Liriano-Baker-Pavano…
Take Lowe back and we will give u randall delgado and some other prospects 😉
Are you drunk? Delgado will be a very good piece in the Braves bullpen in the future.
Delgado is much more than a bulpen arm. Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus said in a recent chat that he has the ceiling of “at least” a #2 starter – his fastball is that good. Goldstein said that he gets lost in the shuffle alot because he ranks be hind Teheran and Vizcaino in the prospect charts, but that is how stacked our high upside arms are in the low minors.
Roy Oswalt + half of his 2010 salary to the Brewers for Angel Salome and Manny Parra.
The Brewers get an actual ace who can pitch deep into games, which not only helps the rotation but greatly reduces the stress put on the bullpen.
The Astros get salary relief, a young, promising left handed starter and a future starting catcher.
Seems fair to me… but I’m a homer.
Man, would I be excited about 2011 if something like this happened 😛
If the Astros are eating half his salary AND trading within the division, it’s going to take a lot more than Parra and Salome. Heck, regardless of salary it’ll take more than that. Salome doesn’t even profile as a Top 10 Brewers prospect anymore. That’s not even close man, sorry.
You mean no one wants our used parts? What if we throw in Suppan and Riske?
Just… no. I doubt he gets traded to the Brewers because they’re divisional rivals and currently out of contention, but if he did, the talks would have to start with either Casey McGeehee or Mat Gamel.
Missed the sarcasm with that last one, eh? I agree that I highly doubt the Brewers end up with Oswalt, but a man has to daydream about finding a way to win somehow, doesn’t he?
Probably should have tossed in Corey Hart. THEN it would have been believable.
The Brewers like the Cubs need a lot of work… The Brewers are adventually going to trade their only legit hitter Pig Fielder then they will be like the Cubs lose and expected to lose…
The Astros already have their catcher of the future in Jason Castro
Roy said he wants to be traded to a contender. Thats disqualifies half the homers here. Mets, Braves, Sox, Sox, Brewers, etc… All are more than one VERY GOOD pitcher away from contending.
And you guys who think Roy is overated or over the hill are idiots. He has abandonded pitch to contact and is back to striking out batters on a regular basis.
I highly doubt Drayton McClane will trade him though as attendance is already low and losing the only good player on this team would even worsen attendance, but it would make us true fans happy!
Braves are 8 for their last 10 and are only a few games back of the Phils in may. Now that makes us not contenders? Lowe and Kawakami are starting to come around and we have incredible overall pitching depth.
You’re right about us not being one good pitcher away from being contenders as we already are contenders. We are one very good bat (LF maybe?) from being WS threats.
It’s still early to rule a lot of teams out of contention. A 7-3 or 8-2 record the next 10 games can quickly change things.
dodgers better be all over this!
Hell yes, they better be. Stand up for L.A. McCourt, you idiot!!!
Yeah, I was just thinking the Dodgers might be a good fit, but of course the whole ownership situation is an issue. Given how they acted during the off-season, it’s hard to imagine the Dodgers taking on any big financial pieces at this point.
It would be a great fit IF they can take the contract. They’re contenders, they have the payroll, they have the pieces, and I’m sure Oswalt would love to play with Ausmus again when he comes off the DL.
With Kemp and Ethier still in arbitration years and their minors relatively barren (since we’re talking about trading for an ace), I don’t think the Dodgers have the payroll flexibility or the chips to make a play for Oswalt. On the upside, at least their starting pitching has been much less of a disaster as of lat. They might not need him to contend.
The Dodgers don’t have Kemp, Ethier, Martin, Loney, etc in the minors anymore, but there’s some depth there. They could certainly put together a package for Oswalt if McCourt would actually write the check.
Well If he wants to come to Atlanta that could only happen if Houston takes on Lowe-$3 million although they could get a decent set of prospects in return, Randall Delgado, Brandon Hicks, and Brett Devall maybe. It wont happen though, best fit IMO is LA but apparently he wants to be on the southern east coast.
Make a call, Dave Dombrowski
Texas for wilmer font+max ramirez? Astros eat a little salary as they are getting some good talent back.
The one position where the Astros actually have a prospect is catcher, so I can’t imagine why they’d have interest in this.
Font is a starting pitcher and ramirez is seen more as a firstbaseman.
I could see him going to the Twins. Would be a big boost to their rotation. If Liriano keeps pitching the way he is, a 1-2 of Liriano and Oswalt with Baker, Blackburn, and Slowey/Pavano rounding it out would be great. The Twins could send Slowey/Pavano and Wilson Ramos to Houston in the deal. Fair?
In reference to a possible trade to the Mets, I think it depends on what the asking price is. Granted, Oswalt is certainly not the same pitcher he was years ago, but if the Mets are serious about winning, Oswalt would instantly–and I mean instantly–become the Mets second best starting pitcher.
Then again, if the Astros are asking for Cliff Lee/Roy Halladay type prospect, Omar should tell ’em to “sit on it.”
Sorry but none of Oswalt’s preferred teams make any sense without them first pulling off other moves. — Atlanta is strapped for cash. They already have either a solid or expensive pitcher 1-5. No question that Oswalt would be great for Atlanta but Lowe or someone else would need to be moved first.– St Louis is also fairly set in their rotation and lacks funds. Out of all the teams on his list, St Louis is the best possibility but I still see it as a long shot.– Texas could use him but their ownership situation is a mess. No way they are taking on such a large commitment until that team is sold.– With Oswalt the big obstacle is money. The Astros cannot expect decent talent back AND have the other team pick up the entire contract. So, who has money to take on another $13-15m/year? Yankees, of course. Vazquez has been a disaster and the Rays are running away with things. Yankees might feel pressure to make a move. The Angels maybe. They might have the money and their pitching was been awful. If Kazmir can’t turn it around Oswalt may be an option. Tigers? They are maxed out this year but next year will be flush with cash and in need of restocking their rotation. My money is on the Tigers.
Tigers. If Roy leaves 8 games in Detroit with leads, he’ll have a lot more than zero wins. And Ilitch’s wife owns a casino.
Oswalt is going to go to a team that he wants. Not a team that Houston chooses. I highly doubt he will play in a place like LA, BOS, or NY. Hes a laid back dude from Mississippi. They wont trade him in their division so Reds/Cards/Brewers/Cubs are out. Think more along the lines of Rangers, or Twins. The Braves to me are the perfect fit. Lots of good young players on the farm to spare, Lowes contract to move, and Bobbys fair well year. I agree with NYBravosfan this trade scenario has the Braves written all over it.
Depending on the injury status of Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse, maybe the Cardinals suddenly become more interested. It would still be a trade within the division and the Cardinals don’t have a lot of guys on the farm, but DeWitt might be willing to pay Oswalt in the short-term to make a push for a championship before Pujols new contract. Plus, Oswalt would be coming off the books, along with Chris Carpenter, just as a Pujols extension would kick in.
Still don’t think he will end up with the Cardinals, but injures to 40% of the rotation in two days has to bring St. Louis into the discussion more than I would have guessed 48 hours ago. If Oswalt wants to come to St. Louis and the Cardinals can make it work it would be fun to see Oswalt in a rotation with Carpenter and Wainwright.