Just one win shy of the Astros' franchise win record, Roy Oswalt is leaving the only team he's ever known. The 32-year-old righty approved a trade to the Phillies, who sent J.A. Happ and low minors prospects Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar to Houston for Oswalt and $11MM. The Astros then flipped Gose to the Blue Jays. The Phillies will not pick up Oswalt's 2012 option, but will add $1MM to the buyout as compensation. Seven months after trading Cliff Lee to the Mariners for prospects, the Phillies added a different ace to their rotation to support Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels. Oswalt has a 3.42 ERA, 8.4 K/9, and 2.4 BB/9 in 20 starts this year.
Oswalt asked the Astros for a trade in late May, and talks ensued with the Phillies, Cardinals, Rangers, Padres, and Dodgers, among others. Astros owner Drayton McLane dealt directly with Phillies president David Montgomery to complete the complicated trade. As expected, Oswalt's full no-trade clause, his 2012 option, and the $23.46MM guaranteed to him through '11 were significant obstacles.
Happ, 27, finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting last year with a 2.93 ERA in 166 innings. However, he's tallied only 53 pro innings in 2010 due to an April forearm injury. Happ won't go to arbitration until after the 2011 season and the Astros control his rights through 2014.
Gose, a speedy center fielder playing at the High A level, was ranked sixth among the team's prospects by Baseball America heading into the season. He rates highly for his speed, defense, and arm tools, but remains a work in progress.
Villar, a shortstop in Low A ball, was ranked 22nd among Phillies prospects heading into the season. The results haven't been there yet but BA says he has "plus tools across the board except for power."
Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston first reported the agreement late Wednesday night, while Ken Rosenthal, Jayson Stark, Jon Heyman, Matt Gelb, Amy K. Nelson, Jerry Crasnick, and Danny Knobler contributed more information today.
A clear win for the Phillies.
Can’t really say that…Remains to be seen, but this is simply awesome! I love trades in Baseball!
Steal for the Phils. Redemption time for the Lee trade.
Why they traded him to begin with indefensible.
That said, this is a great trade. Now, the question is who got the better of lopsided trades. The Angels or the Phillies.
only time will tell.
they couldn’t afford to resign him long term
Wow ruben didn’t give up that much… was expecting singelton in the deal. good trade for the phillies
So the Astros are paying almost half of the money remaining on Oswalt’s contract?! Clearly a steal for the Phils.
Astros got hosed
Nope. That’s about what oswalt was worth. Definitely a good deal for the Phils
Error fixed, Astros obviously sending money to Phils
How the hell does Ed Wade stay employed?
“Astros owner Drayton McLane dealt directly with Phillies president David Montgomery to complete the complicated trade.”
Neither Amaro nor Wade deserve blame or credit. (If that statement is true and as extreme as I believe it is)
I don’t think Amaro could’ve pulled off this coup and I don’t think Wade is this bad.
I’m thinking the baseball guys decided the players and the owners worked out the $11M figure.
I’m thinking the baseball guys decided the players and the owners worked out the $11M figure.
First, If you can’t come up with a cogent argument to keep your boss from doing something stupid, you are just as much to blame as he is. Second, I am pretty sure the owner guys were just doing the financials, and the GMs the players. I seriously doubt McLane has done any talent evaluation on the Phil’s 22nd best project. Wade in fact deserves the hiding he’s going to take in the papers, and Amaro just got bailed out on his Lee trade if Philly can get into the playoffs.
First, If you can’t come up with a cogent argument to keep your boss from doing something stupid, you are just as much to blame as he is. Second, I am pretty sure the owner guys were just doing the financials, and the GMs the players. I seriously doubt McLane has done any talent evaluation on the Phil’s 22nd best project. Wade in fact deserves the hiding he’s going to take in the papers, and Amaro just got bailed out on his Lee trade if Philly can get into the playoffs.
Wade is that bad. Under his watch the Phillies got absolutely nothing for Curt Schilling and Scott Rolen. Both were in the primes of their careers, and Wade couldn’t get anything for them.
Wade is that bad. Under his watch the Phillies got absolutely nothing for Curt Schilling and Scott Rolen. Both were in the primes of their careers, and Wade couldn’t get anything for them.
I dunno. By building teams that are perennial contenders, like the Phillies?
That would be my guess.
I wouldn’t say perennial contenders.
I would, the comment was about ed wade. the phillies team core, he built from scratch
Perennial contenders for 2nd place while ol’ Ed was the GM. I seem to recall that’s why they fired him. Sure he drafts well, but seems to be pretty weak on the rest of the GM role, like making the postseason and not getting killed in trades and stuff.
Most of the draft credit should be going to Mike Arbuckle, really.
I dunno. By building teams that are perennial contenders, like the Phillies?
That would be my guess.
Wow, getting fleeced by Amaro is, uh, special.
Right, because the last time Amaro was able to swing a deadline deal for a difference-making pitcher without giving up any elite talent was, um, last year’s trade deadline.
kyle drabek.
Who he proceeded to trade in the offseason for god knows what reason, and then did the Ryan Howard extension.
Right, because the last time Amaro was able to swing a deadline deal for a difference-making pitcher without giving up any elite talent was, um, last year’s trade deadline.
Doesn’t Oswalt usually have bad 2nd half’s of the season? What can we expect in terms of performance? Halladay, Hamels and Oswalt is a great playoff rotation. This makes us very strong for next year too and at a cost that’s well under what we would have payed for a comparable starter on the FA market.
Dan Haren is known to struggle in the 2nd half, Oswalt on the other hand:
Career splits
1st half: 3.35 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.30 K/BB
2nd half: 3.08 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 4.07 K/BB
Dan Haren is known to struggle in the 2nd half, Oswalt on the other hand:
Career splits
1st half: 3.35 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.30 K/BB
2nd half: 3.08 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 4.07 K/BB
This is Haren for Saunders all over again. Doesn’t quite make up for Lee, but I’ll take it.
The Angels did much better than the Astros did here, but that’s b/c Haren is better, younger, and cheaper. Skaggs and (I forget the name) the other young pitcher are better prospects than Gose and Villar are, though Happ, b/c of the salary and the fact that he’s cost-controlled for 4 years, is a good bit better than Saunders.
Ed Wade got fleeced by Ruben Amaro!
Amaro is 3 for 4 now in the fleecing department (Indians, Jays, ‘stros). Although the one fleecing he took was truly epic.
Short term fleecing not long term.This is obviously a win now at all costs type of move. Basically you moved 4-5 years of Happ for a 1.5 years of Oswalt. Long term most likely not a great move since Happ was probably the Phils second best pitcher last year but short term they raked. They should be the favorites moving forward in the East this year.
The Jays certainly aren’t complaining about being fleeced. All three guys they picked up were recently ranked in BA’s top 50 list. Halladay’s a monster, but that’s a pretty nice haul considering he’d have been out the door after this season. That was a trade that’s working out for both teams, I’d say.
(The story might be different if they hadn’t flipped Taylor for Wallace maybe. D’arnaud numbers aren’t spectacular, but he’s in a very pitcher friendly park and a pitcher friendly league. He’s still one of the best hitters on his team and the scouting reports are excellent).
That was a very good trade by Amaro, but you’re right, Zeroes, it’s not fair to call it a “fleecing.” Both teams got exactly what they were looking for.
Care to revisit this????
I wouldn’t say getting Dreybeck and Michael Taylor constitutes a fleecing for the Jays especially since they were able to flip Taylor for another player.
I wouldn’t say getting Dreybeck and Michael Taylor constitutes a fleecing for the Jays especially since they were able to flip Taylor for another player.
They flipped Taylor for Wallace, which was an acceptable move, but they turned Wallace into Gose. Major fail.
Ahem
Amaro is 3 for 4 now in the fleecing department (Indians, Jays, ‘stros). Although the one fleecing he took was truly epic.
Wow, low minors guys + J.A. (3rd/4th starter imo) for Oswalt and 11MM and the Phillies don’t have to pick up the option? Good deal for them, guess that Haren trade was used as a measuring tool, Ruben should personally call Dipoto and offer to take him out to dinner.
Nice steal for Philly. Not as bad a hit on the farm system as I was expecting… So, I think the Stros got Hosed…
Ed Wade is an idiot
Any Phillies fan can tell you that.
Any Phillies fan can tell you that.
He drafts well, but always sucked at trades. Dont underestimate Happ. Theyre going to like him there for years to come.
Happ’s a valuable guy, a solid #3/4 in my eyes.
I think he’s a better player than Saunders, frankly.
Happ’s 2009 was very much like Kendrick’s 2007 … the ERA and won-loss record look good, but every other stat says he’s going to have a lot of trouble repeating the success.
Happ will be good as long as his arm doesn’t fall off. That was the biggest concerns the Phillies had. It took him way too long for him to recover from that injury.
He drafts well, but always sucked at trades. Dont underestimate Happ. Theyre going to like him there for years to come.
Ed Wade is an idiot
whenever the phils are in need of something…ruben goes out and gets it done. and he never gives up alot….give him credit
whenever the phils are in need of something…ruben goes out and gets it done. and he never gives up alot….give him credit
It’s amazing how seemingly unimpressive some of these returns have been for some of these star players. COnsidering how the offering were so high for Haren and Oswalt and then seeing the returns they settled for it’s been somewhat anti-climatic.
I was thinking the same thing. You had to wonder if the Haren deal was a fluke or a trend. Now with the Oswalt deal in the books and the Stros not getting Singleton AND having to pay a large amount of his money, it is looking like a trend. These old contracts in another economy being paid are no longer to be assuming a higher prospect in return. That way of thinking appears to be not that common anymore.
On a side note to fellow Cub fans. Do not expect much in return for Lilly. Haren and Oswalt are overall better and netted what they did…wow.
It’s amazing how seemingly unimpressive some of these returns have been for some of these star players. COnsidering how the offering were so high for Haren and Oswalt and then seeing the returns they settled for it’s been somewhat anti-climatic.
I meant…It’s amazing how seemingly unimpressive some of these returns have been for some of these star players. COnsidering how the DEMANDS were so high for Haren and Oswalt and then seeing the returns they settled for it’s been somewhat anti-climatic.
I meant…It’s amazing how seemingly unimpressive some of these returns have been for some of these star players. COnsidering how the DEMANDS were so high for Haren and Oswalt and then seeing the returns they settled for it’s been somewhat anti-climatic.
Phillies make BIG moves. Great trade!
Phillies make BIG moves. Great trade!
JA Happ better be the next Cliff Lee. Otherwise this is horrible for the Astros
I wouldn’t hold my breath.
I doubt he’ll ever be Cliff Lee, but the Astros could’ve done a lot worse than Happ. His peripherals aren’t great, but he has been successful because he’s a pretty tough pitcher who can work his way out of jams and keep the team in a game. He was called up pretty late, as many Phillies prospects are (around 26) which means that he is more composed and mature than a lot of guys are after only a year in the big leagues. He should be good for a few solid years in the middle of the rotation, putting up ERAs between 3.50 and 4.50. A positive addition to most MLB rotations.
…I guess its horrible for the Astros
JA Happ better be the next Cliff Lee. Otherwise this is horrible for the Astros
wow astros, just wow. if it had just been oswalt maybe the trade isn’t so bad, but you throw in 11 mil and all we get are a low-a speedy outfielder (which we have two of already in the majors as well as a couple in AAA and AA) and a horrible low-a ss, villar has a ton of errors and is hitting under .240 in low-a. i would of taken singleton and happ for oswalt, stupid drayton mcclanne, get your damn hands out of the day-to-day and let your GM do his job, you are a moron!
wow astros, just wow. if it had just been oswalt maybe the trade isn’t so bad, but you throw in 11 mil and all we get are a low-a speedy outfielder (which we have two of already in the majors as well as a couple in AAA and AA) and a horrible low-a ss, villar has a ton of errors and is hitting under .240 in low-a. i would of taken singleton and happ for oswalt, stupid drayton mcclanne, get your damn hands out of the day-to-day and let your GM do his job, you are a moron!
i dont understand the phillies thinking. why trade cliff lee if you’re gonna trade for roy oswalt? could have just kept lee to begin with.
plus, oswalt is due more money than Lee is. Werth is definitely gone after the season. Who knows, maybe the Phils deal Oswalt like they did with Lee after the season.
…because Lee was for this year only. Oswalt is for 1.5yrs, plus a (now mutual) Option. Oswalt is NOT due more than Lee…the Phils get him basically for free this year, plus basically $10m NEXT year, since Houston is paying $11m of his salary. Lee is going to cost at minimum $20m/yr for 5yrs; more likely $23m.Seriously, this has been explained ad nauseum.
no, Lee was for 1.5 years. he was traded for before the deadline just like oswalt. and it is in the deal that the phillies will buy out his 2012 season for $2 million. so you’re wrong there.
think about it. The Phils got Lee for half a year in 09 and could have kept him this season as well. Idk if the phillies got any money in the Lee deal, but lets assume they didnt for the sake of argument. that means they paid the rest of his 09 salary, and would’ve paid him $9 million in 2010.
Roy Oswalt is due $23.46 million guaranteed over the next year and a half. 2012 is not happening, since the Phils will buy out that season for $2 million. The phillies received $11 million from the astros in the trade. SO, $23.46 million – $11 million = $12.46 million.
each of them could have been phillies for 1.5 years. this has nothing to do with free agency. straight money for the 1.5 years, oswalt costs more.
Don’t mean to keep you from your GED studies, Frank, but that’s a stupid, stupid argument. If you were talking about the same 1.5 years for both pitchers, it would make sense to make that comparison, but if you’re evaluating the impact of the Phils’ decision to trade Lee last off-season (which is where you started this discussion), then you have to look at the cost of the two players from the point of the trade on. Lee would have cost $9 million this year and, as Muggi said, at least $20 million & probably more next year (assuming the Phils could have resigned him). Oswalt will cost about $12.5 million for a third of this year and all of next year. To be fair, you have to add in the roughly $320,00 that was spent in salary for that spot in the rotation for the first two-thirds of this season, but the Phils are still saving more than $16 million in payroll this year and next, which only increases the chances of them resigning Jayson Werth. The window of opportunity for moaning about the Cliff Lee trade has officially closed.
Yeah, that’s not going to happen. He still has a NTC and the reason they traded Lee was because they did not have a good feeling about keeping him past 2010…If Roy pitches well, his option can still be picked up..
oswalt’s option for 2012 cant be picked up. the phils compensated it by adding $1 million to the buyout
oswalt’s option for 2012 cant be picked up. the phils compensated it by adding $1 million to the buyout
Maybe he knew Cliff was coming back with Oswalt Halladay and Hamels??? lol
i dont understand the phillies thinking. why trade cliff lee if you’re gonna trade for roy oswalt? could have just kept lee to begin with.
plus, oswalt is due more money than Lee is. Werth is definitely gone after the season. Who knows, maybe the Phils deal Oswalt like they did with Lee after the season.
How do the Jays factor into this?
How do the Jays factor into this?
It hurt the Astros bad that they weren’t willing to deal with the Cards. McLane basically boxed himself into a corner leaving the Phillies as the only team involved. By not having to bid against anyone else, it made Oswalt much cheaper. (I thought McLane was supposed to have some business sense!)
It hurt the Astros bad that they weren’t willing to deal with the Cards. McLane basically boxed himself into a corner leaving the Phillies as the only team involved. By not having to bid against anyone else, it made Oswalt much cheaper. (I thought McLane was supposed to have some business sense!)
Makes me think Rube may not be the boob I thought he was. I’m starting to think the Lee disaster was engineered by Monty and the Seven Dwarves who constitute the club’s ownership. Maybe they wanted Lee off the books before RA brought in Halladay, forced RA to make a quick deal and then threw him under the bus. Makes as much sense as the popular notion that Ruben had a brain cramp while on the phone with Jack Zduriencik.
I’ve always suspected that the deal Ruben got for Lee was because of something similar to this. When you look back at how the Phillies didn’t even attempt to shop Lee for a better offer suggests that Ruben was probably in a position in which he had to make a fast decision or risk the Blue Jays backing out of a deal.
The question here isn’t about Halladay vs Lee – the fact was that Ruben clearly viewed Halladay as the best pitcher for the Phillies, and he did what he had to do to get the guy he wanted. To get the best pitcher in baseball – and then get him to agree to a short-term extension at below-market value – warrants some praise.
He’s still the guy who chose Ibanez and Howard over Werth and Lee.
No, he chose Ibanez over Pat Burrell.
So now hes the guy who chose Halladay Oswalt Lee and Howard over Werth then?
It’s like people these days can not read the GM’s were not involved so they should not get credit nor the blame for this.
lol seriously. people are frickin’ morons on here. read passed the headline morons, amaro and wade had little to do with this deal. They don’t deserve praise/criticism.
McLane dealt directly with Montgomery to complete the deal. Most likely to work out the $$ going to Philly. Wade and Amaro were most certainly heavily involved in the trade. Or are you two just clowning around?
lol seriously. people are frickin’ morons on here. read passed the headline morons, amaro and wade had little to do with this deal. They don’t deserve praise/criticism.
Good i think for both teams but it is shifting to Philly I think. Houston gets the best pitcher on a world series club last year, and two prospects. Gose has 36 stolen bases, and supposedly, a good defender in the outfield, but he has an average in the .260’s. And I heard nothing about his offense in the post, so that must mean he’s not a great offensive player. Plus he is in A baller. And Villar is a young shortstop, who has a decent .270 average and 38 stolen bases. The phils had to give up a Very nice young pitcher in J.A, and gave up some minor league speed. I like it and I don’t.
Gose has apparently been flipped to Toronto. Houstron already has an Anthony Gose. His name is Michael Bourn.
except Bourn walks sometimes and doesn’t strike out as often.
Hey, we still have Singleton, Rizzotti, May, Colvin, Worley, Mathieson AND Cosart! Excellent deal by RAJr!
…not to mention Valle, Santana, and Galvis. We got rid of one of our top 15 prospects in Gose…that’s it. You knew Happ was gone and that hurts, but Oswalt is a solid #1, but an even better #2 or #3.
Amaro gets the ESPY for fleece of the year
Not if Gose turns into Brett Wallace
Not if Gose turns into Brett Wallace
So, Amaro gives away Cliff Lee and says to Jack Z “you owe me one”. Jack Z hands over Brandon Morrow to Alex A, and says “you owe Ruben one”. Well…looks like Ruben just called in his favor.
i really hope mark cuban buys the rangers in the auction so nolan ryan’s group will buy the astros from drayton. he (not ed wade or tal smith or even tim purpura) has single-handedly ruined the houston franchise with his hands-on approach to things he clearly doesn’t understand (baseball). go back to your grocery store, old bastid.
Does anyone know if the phillies can still choose to pick up his 2012 option when the time comes, or is it already bought out for $2 million.
Mutual Option from what I gathered..so, yes if he performs and he is comfortable here we can have him for 2.5 years…
Mutual Option from what I gathered..so, yes if he performs and he is comfortable here we can have him for 2.5 years…
yes and amaro said in his presser that obtaining him for even longer than that is a viable option.
Makes me wonder why they did not just keep Lee. It is nice to see some trades going on.
Steal for Philly! Wonder who they’ll face in the series?
they gotta get their first bro.
Their a year too late. Should’ve made this trade when you had the chance, Amaro. But no, you didn’t wanna give up Doug Drabeks son for a shot at Halladay. Tisk, Tisk, Tisk.
Phillies fans are REALLY delousional that they think that Oswalt will help them when they have a crap bullpen and their offense leaves much to be desired.
Yeah that O-Fence really lacks firepower, 3-4-5 of Ilbanez, Howard and Werth with Utley and Rollins coming back is really “undesirable”.
Comments like this necessitate a dislike button.
couldn’t agree more.
i’ll give you the crap bullpen. but really dude? offense??
I just don’t get it why Jays wanted Gose so badly. what’s worse is that they dumped wallace regarded as a pretty good prospect despite his bad SO ratio.
what are the chances that the Phils deal Oswalt to the Cards in the offseason?
0%, I don’t recall the Cards having any prospects of interest for the Phillies.
Dont see it happening. The Cards focus on signings next season have been clear that the money they have is guarenteed to Pujols. I know there have been talks on other forums that the Cards have been thinking about Trading off Lohse next season possibly to SD or PHI. But to answer your question… No. I really don’t see the Cards wasting there money on someone who is beginning a decline in his career.
what are the chances that Oswalt gets dealt to the Cards in the offseason?
So how did you Phillies Fans enjoy Oswalt’s first start? 4 ER on 7 hits and a couple of walks, par for the course. And Happ, oh what a bum, to pitch 6 innings and only give up 2 hits. And you can’t compare their opponents.
Don’t really think that Oswalt is a starter contender especially with the likes of Halladay and Hamels. He is already past his prime. Last year should tell you big time. He has great experience but is past the prime. I say keep using Blanton and put Oswalt in the relief spot maybe a set up guy or middle reliever. They might get good use for it.
LOL @ You. Keep Blanton and put Oswalt in long relief……..lmfao.
LOL, let’s judge players on one performance….In that case, Dallas Braden deserves the Cy Young in the AL.
MUhahahahahahahah!!!! Par for what course!! Since Oswalt went to Philly, 10-1 1.80 era, had a no hitter going last night into the 6th ended up with a 1 hitter. Best pitcher in baseball since the trade. Thats PAr for Osawalts course
I hate the Phillies but this is dumb