Baltimore Sun: Astros discuss Tejada trade for ROY OSWALT

I have a new thery about this. I think that the O's put this rumor out there just to raise the bid on Tejada

 

i honestly can't believe this isn't a joke. freaking roy oswalt? is it a fact that timmy was ready to pull the trigger on this thing? even if we traded oswalt straight up for tejada i would probably not be able to stomach an astros game for a long long time. they'd have to give up at the minimum their best pitching prospect in addition to tejada.

i'm really feeling disgusted that oswalt was even on the market. unless he flat out says he doesn't want to play here anymore i would never consider trading him. i'd like a list of pitchers better then him over the last 5 seasons. it might start and end with santana if even that.

 

Purpura is an ass if this rumors are true. Oswalt should be more untouchable than Hirsh and Pence. Oswalt, Ensberg, and Everett for Tejada. What a joke.

 

exactly. no player short of probably albert pujols should be untouchable but i figure we'd atleast have to be absolutely blown away to trade him. tejada alone would not even be close for me. who the f#$k pitches for you next year if you trade oswalt? wow.

 

Sometimes, the worst deals are the ones that don't happen because you find out what your front office's thought process is. It scares me that they considered moving Oswalt.

 

absolutely. i've never been close to this angry with the stros before. it's partly because oswalt is one of my favorite players of all time, probably right below dream, bagwell, and biggio. i love the way he plays the game.

 

the truth is, none of us actually know what was offered. who leaked what information. what the motives are. what other factors are in play.

probably not the last time i say it: i'll be shocked if the o's trade tejada ANYWHERE.

 

Do you know for a fact that they did?

 

The only thing the astros have publicly stated is that Oswalt is now off of the market. They haven't denied that at one time Oswalt was to potentially be traded.

I originally thought this was some bull**** the Orioles made up because they're capable of making up nonsense like this, but since the Astros still haven't publicly denied any of these rumors, I'm going to go ahead and assume that is an implicit yes.

 

i'm a bit late but, sure why not Oswalt for Tejada? look at what the Rangers have done with all their offensive power and no pitching.

 

They've done it 1 year. How about the last million with all their offensive power and no pitching?

 

Dude i thought i was the only one who felt this way about Roy O. Ever since the first game he started, just his approach, his fast way of dealing, his stamina, his competiveness, his mentality (drilling people), everything.........he's up there right below the Dream for me.......

 

I really can't believe they even considered trading Oswalt. The hardest thing to come across in baseball is a true ace, and Roy O is one of the best pitchers in the NL. He's a basically a home-grown prospect (don't you love those Timmy?) and he's approaching his prime, unlike our other big pitchers in Pettite and Clemens. Yeah, we all want some offense, but not at the expense of our ace.
I just hope all these rumors combined with the wrong direction the franchise is going right now don't piss off Roy and really make hime want to leave. That would be disastrous.

 

Drayton better not even think about dealing Roy just to get away from paying him.We are buyers.....this is nuts.

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5831512
Astros upset over failed Tejada deal
Ken Rosenthal / FOXSports.com
Posted: 2 hours ago


It was going to be a blockbuster — Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada for Astros right-hander Roy Oswalt, shortstop Adam Everett and a third player.

The Astros believed that such a deal was close Friday night, but barring a last-minute shift, Oswalt won't be going anywhere, and Tejada might not be, either.
The Rangers continue to pursue Tejada, according to a major-league official, but the Astros and Angels no longer are engaging in active discussions with the Orioles.

The Astros, major-league sources say, are steamed that Orioles owner Peter Angelos apparently quashed the original Oswalt-Tejada deal as well as several revised proposals.

But there may have been another issue.

The Astros, one major-league executive says, feared that the Orioles would flip Oswalt, their most prized acquisition for Tejada, to Houston's cross-state rival, the Texas Rangers.

A National League executive disputes that theory, saying the Astros "knew all along" that the Orioles were trying to flip Oswalt. The executive says that the Orioles indiscreetly shopped all of the players they were offered to other clubs, calling it "no way to do business."

The Orioles apparently intended to trade Oswalt to the Rangers for third baseman Hank Blalock, Class AAA shortstop Joaquin Arias and one of the Rangers' top three pitching prospects – left-hander John Danks, right-hander Thomas Diamond or right-hander Edison Volquez.

The Orioles also would have ended up with two other players from the Astros – Everett and possibly third baseman Morgan Ensberg – effectively making the deal a 5-for-1 for Tejada.

Presumably, the Orioles then would have spun one of the third basemen, Blalock or Ensberg, or moved one of them to first, while moving their current third baseman, Melvin Mora, back to the outfield.

At one point Sunday, the Rangers appeared to be closing in on a trade for Phillies right-hander Jon Lieber, but were diverted by their pursuit of Oswalt.

For the Astros, losing Oswalt to the Rangers could have been a public-relations nightmare, evoking memories of when Nolan Ryan went from Houston to Texas. The Astros had similar concerns when Roger Clemens was courted by the Rangers as a free agent last spring.

However, a second N.L. executive says the Astros would have been less concerned about Oswalt going to the Rangers than their biggest N.L. Central rival, the Cardinals.

While the Astros' inclusion of Oswalt in the Tejada discussions seems shocking, this almost certainly will not be the last time Oswalt's name surfaces in trade discussions.

Oswalt, 28, is a free agent after the 2007 season. He is expected to seek a contract of at least five years. And his injury history and slight, 6-foot, 185-pound frame make him a long-term risk.

As for Tejada, the Orioles still have a chance to trade him to the Rangers for a similar package, a major-league official says. But that might be their only chance to complete a Tejada blockbuster.

The Angels, who offered the Orioles a package of right-hander Ervin Santana and Class AAA shortstop Erick Aybar for Tejada, also have pulled out of the Tejada discussions, the official says.

The Dodgers are not actively pursuing Tejada, other sources say

 

Have the Astros ever given a pitcher more then a 3 year contract since Swindell and Drabek? I believe this is their policy now.

Hopefully, they will settle on a four year deal, but they can't let him leave for nothing. Maybe trading him now when his value is at it's highest is not such a bad idea.

 

Wow, this is a great move by the Astros organization. Lets piss off our best pitcher and let a rumor leak around that we almost traded him.

Good job!

 

The problem with that is who is your pitcher next year? I understand that if we want to trade him at the deadline in 2007 that his value may not be as high as it is now, but what do you do about next year? To me, it's worth giving up some of his value now for him to be our ace next year. We should contend again depending on what happens with the freed up money in the offseason.

 

But if we're conceding that we can't re-sign him, that puts you in the Carlos Lee or Barry Zito situation next season. If we're contending, we have to keep him and then lose him for nothing. If we're not contending, other teams know we have to move him for whatever we can get.

The theory (I assume) of trading him now or in this coming offseason is that we can get guys to replace him that we don't have to worry about possibly trading mid-season. For example, if you trade him now, you bring up Hirsh and find out if he can be an ace-type pitcher. Then, you go into the offseason knowing you need a top-flight SP. If you wait and even trade him sometime during the offseason, all the best SP's may be gone already.

But this all depends on what he'd fetch in return, what the Astros think as far as re-signing him goes, and if they've given up on this season. If they still are looking to contend for this year (which it seems they are), I have no clue why you'd consider trading Roy. Even if you make the playoffs, you're absolutely going to need him and Roger to be at their best to advance any, especially with Pettitte struggling so much.

 

Oswalt has a lot more value than Carlos Lee, and the Astros management is much better than the Brewers management. The A's realize they have a chance this year, so they'd only trade Zito if someone knocked their socks off.