According to Mark Berman of FOX 26 in Houston, the Phillies and Astros have a deal in place involving Roy Oswalt and are waiting for the 32-year-old right-hander to decide whether he wants to waive his no-trade clause.
Berman writes that the two sides “have agreed on the amount of money” that the Astros will eat from Oswalt’s contract and the players that the Phillies will be sending to Houston.
If the report is true and the deal is only pending Oswalt’s approval, our guess is that he goes. The Astros are a lost franchise and currently reside in fifth place in the National League Central. They need him to take his hefty contract elsewhere, and he’d be wise to jump at the opportunity to play for a contender.
Oswalt has a 3.42 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP and 120 strikeouts in 129 innings this season. He is owed about $5 million for the rest of this season, $16 million for 2011 and he also carries a $16 million option for 2012. He wants that option picked up by the team that acquires him and that may be causing the hold-up. Oswalt will be 34 at the start of the 2012 season and he turns 35 during it. His numbers haven’t declined this season — in fact, he’s seen a bit of a resurgence — but the Phillies probably don’t want to pay for former Houston general manager Tim Purpura’s mistakes. He made a whole lot of them during his short stay with the club.
