Oswalt to the Phillies for JA Happ and MORE???

I looked up both of those twitter accounts. They have 5 and 17 followers, respectively. I'm not saying the rumor is false but who are those two people?

 

Is JA Happ good? Or is the more part the good part?

 

Phillies seek pitcher, shop OF Werth

By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com

There were indications Tuesday the Phillies were working on a major deal to acquire a starting pitcher in an attempt to save a season that has veered in the wrong direction this month.

The Phillies will need a starting pitcher for Saturday, since they sent Monday's starter Kyle Kendrick back to the minor leagues on Tuesday. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr., who is with the club in St. Louis, hinted strongly to reporters that the Phillies could acquire a pitcher from outside the organization to make that start.

The club might also need a starter for Sunday now, as well, because the tentative pitcher that day, Jamie Moyer, left his start Tuesday after one inning with what was described as a left elbow strain.

At the same time, they were also discussing a companion trade that would move outfielder Jayson Werth to free up money, open a spot for top prospect Domonic Brown and replenish their prospect supply. The Phillies have talked to multiple teams about Werth, but a source indicated Tuesday night that Tampa Bay appears to head the list of interested teams.

Amaro said Tuesday night the club was "not close" to completing any deal, but he declined to comment about other details of ESPN.com's report.

On the pitching front, the Phillies have discussed deals involving a number of starters. They've talked about Arizona's Dan Haren, Baltimore's Jeremy Guthrie and Oakland's Ben Sheets, among others. But there were indications they've spent a lot of time in recent days exploring a trade for Astros ace Roy Oswalt.

Oswalt would have to approve any trade, and there were no signs he'd been approached about waiving his no-trade clause or that he'd been told any deal was close. He is also said to prefer to go to a team in the South or Midwest, so there were no guarantees he would approve a deal to Philadelphia.

Many teams have downplayed the possibility Oswalt would get traded at all, because he is owed more than $7 million for the rest of this year and $16 million next year, in addition to either a $16-million option or $2-million buyout for 2012.

However, the Phillies are looking to trade for a starting pitcher they can control beyond this year. And if they were to move Werth's salary (about $3.5 million for the rest of this year) and the Astros pick up several million dollars of Oswalt's money, it would even out the dollars for the rest of this season.

The Phillies also have focused on top-of-the-rotation starters, and Oswalt is the one starter currently on the market who would best fit that description.

While there was no indication the players in any potential trade have been agreed to, the Phillies have shopped last year's rookie-of-the-year runner-up, J.A. Happ, who is currently pitching in Triple-A to work his way back from a forearm strain.

Werth, meanwhile, has slumped badly over the last month. One club that spoke with the Phillies said the Phillies' efforts to trade him have been "growing" in recent days. Among the clubs thought to be interested in him in addition to Tampa Bay: the Red Sox, Giants and Padres. Werth can become a free agent after this season, and the Phillies appear to have just about given up hope that they can re-sign him.

 

who are either of those twitter accts, by the way?

 

Happ is one of their top young pitchers. 27 year old lefty whose name kept swirling around last season as a major component teams wanted back in trades with the Phillies. Just check out his career stats, he looks to have a very promising future

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=28817

 

that entire blog post seems completely worthless. not imminent meaning not going to happen in the wee hours of this morning? and then he says ed wade doesnt comment on trades, so he's admitting he has no inside info as to whether this is imminent anyway.

it's like he just wanted to rush the post out to take part in breaking the story and show people that he works for the astros and that no scoop can get by him.

 

It just seems sketchy to use specifics in the title if it is largely based on a twitter account with less than 20 followers.

It may turn out to be true but it probably would've been better to create a more generic thread title like...

"Oswalt Trade Talk Heating Up"

just in case you have a bad source.

How long is that Iggy thread now? 30 pages? And based on a supposed insider that for some reason posts on a fantasy forum in txt speak.

 

The Phillies and Astros were said to be working on a trade that would send Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia, two major-league sources told FanHouse on Tuesday night, although the deal would then require Oswalt's approval.

One source described the talks as "heavy."

Houston "may be close to putting the ball in [Oswalt's] court," the other source said, although he didn't think the trade was down to the finishing touches.

Oswalt (6-11 but with a 3.12 ERA and .220 average allowed) has a full no-trade clause. He said last month he wants to go to a team that "pretty much" is a sure thing to make the postseason this year. That might mean Philadelphia -- third in the NL East and sixth in the wild-card race -- would have to convince Oswalt he would push them into the playoffs.

Philadelphia's need for pitching increased this week when Kyle Kendrick pitched poorly Monday and got sent down Tuesday, and was deepened when Jamie Moyer left his Tuesday start with an injury. Moyer was placed on the disabled list with a strained left elbow after the game, which the Phillies lost 7-1 to the Cardinals.

In talking to reporters Tuesday in St. Louis, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro hinted that he was exploring deals that would bring him a starting pitcher.

"[J.A.] Happ is a possibility [to start Saturday]," Amaro said, in reference to the rotation spot opened by Kendrick's demotion. "We would consider him, and we have other balls in the air."

Happ will almost certainly come up now, either to replace Kendrick or Moyer, but Philadelphia will need another starter to get it through the weekend.

Earlier this season, Oswalt asked Houston, mired below .500, to explore trading him to a contender. But the Astros wanted any trade partner to take on all of Oswalt's contract (the remainder of this year's $15 million, $16 million in 2011 and either $16 million in 2012 or a $2 million buyout) and surrender top prospects.

One way the Phillies could clear space for Oswalt is by getting another big contract off their books. That's where right fielder Jayson Werth could figure into the equation. The Phillies were trying to move Werth in concert with their pursuit of a starting pitcher, according to an ESPN report. Werth, due to be a free agent in the offseason, is making $7 million in 2010.

St. Louis, meanwhile, was also believed to be trying to get a starter, with its focus on Cleveland's Jake Westbrook and Arizona's Dan Haren.

With Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse on the disabled list, the Cardinals over the past two months have gotten just two quality starts from a pitcher other than Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter or Jaime Garcia.

FanHouse's Steve Phillips contributed to this report.

http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/07/21/sources-phils-in-talks-for-roy-oswalt/

 

Off topic but I think Haren to St. Louis would be a potential nightmare for the rest of the NL.

Haren is having a tough season but he's still one of the elite pitchers in baseball. I imagine Duncan would have a good chance to get him back on track.

A rotation of Wainwright, Carpenter, Haren in a 7-game series would be scary if the deal happens and they make the playoffs.

 

Yeah, but he's pitching pretty awful in the minors right now:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=457918

I'd like to hope that it's a mechanical issue relative to his forearm strain right now.

 

If Roy doesn't approve a trade to the Phillies, I will never feel bad for him for the lack of run support and having to play on this terrible team.

 

Olney and Stark have both talked about how the Phillies and Oswalt make sense tonight, but the most recent thing from the Phillies and Astros was "nothing is close".

Kyle Drabek or GTFO.

 

Drabek is in Toronto's farm system.....

 

I would like some of Tampa's prospects.