Does Roy Oswalt Truly Want out of Houston?

With the trade deadline loomingthe market for starting pitchers is heating up. There is just one problem, the market for starting pitchers is not very strong. Dan Harren just got shipped to the Angels and he was considered the #2 sought after pitcher on the market. While Roy Oswalt has expressed interest in being traded out of Houston one has to wonder why his demands are so high that it makes it very difficult for him to be moved?

Oswalt reportedly agreed to waive his $16 million dollar option for 2012 to accept a trade to the Cardinals, his preferred destination. As talks go on it just doesn’t appear that the Cardinals will be able to make a move to acquire Oswalt after signing Matt Holliday to a contract and since they have yet to sign Albert Pujols to an extension. Oswalt has not really expressed interest in playing for the Phillies so unless he decides winning is more important than money, he will make it very difficult for Houston to trade him.

We haven’t really heard of another team interested in pursuing Oswalt as most figured it would come down to the Cardinals or Phillies. The Cardinals are playing and pitching well enough to stay with their current roster. Sure they could make a move for a less sought after player such as Ted Lilly but it’s not necessary. The Phillies are in a different situation. They have made it to the World Series the past two seasons and after trading Cliff Lee in the off season, their starting rotation has not been consistent. Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels have not been backed by consistent run support and their records don’t indicate how well they have pitched. Jamie Moyer is done for the season, J.A. Happ has returned from injury and Joe Blanton has proved he can not be counted on to deliver consistent outings. If the Phillies were to make a run at Oswalt they would probably have to include J.A. Happ and you’re again trading away youth for a veteran with a hefty contract. One will again ask the question, why did they trade Cliff Lee in the first place?

If Oswalt can come to grips with having a shot to play in the World Series by going to Philadelphia a trade could happen by Saturday. If the Phillies were to make this happen, they would send Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hammels to the mound in a three game series. Quite a rotation to face for opposing batters. With recent coaching moves the bats have seemed to come to life lately and sometimes it takes a trade for a All Star caliber player to shift the team into high gear as they make a push for the post season. Stay tuned to see how this all unfolds.

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Tags: MLB, MLB trades, Phillies, Roy Oswalt

This entry was posted on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 10:55 am and is filed under MLB Baseball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Does Roy Oswalt Truly Want out of Houston?

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