Those team-related posts are getting way too long. So we'll turn to this format for the time being, because God knows it could take another six weeks to trade Roy.
Paul Hagen, on the Phillies:
It appears that the Phillies don't have the prospects it would take to land an upper-echelon starter or the payroll flexibility to take on a big contract - Roy Oswalt, for example - even if the other team is only looking for salary relief.
Buster Olney, on the Mets:
They would like to add a starting pitcher -- and not some five-inning, 100-pitch, grind-it-out No. 4 or No. 5 starter. They want a guy who is comparable to their two best starters, Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey, and it appears as if they'll have several choices.
Roy Oswalt is available, but according to sources, the Mets are not enamored of the veteran right-hander, knowing that he will be very expensive, with the $27 million owed to him for the rest of this year and next year, and knowing that the Astros will want good prospects in return for him.
The Mets do like Cliff Lee, and there is sentiment in some quarters of the organization to take a serious run at acquiring the left-hander; in fact, the Mets might wait to make a deal for a pitcher until they are absolutely sure that they can't get Lee. But the Mets don't match up as well with their prospects in a possible trade with Seattle as other teams, such as the Minnesota Twins, who could theoretically offer catcher Wilson Ramos.
Evan Grant, on the Rangers:
If I was handicapping, I'd suggest the Rangers are the frontrunners for him if the sale of the club proceeds forward early in July. If not, the Astros may not be willing to wait and see what the Rangers' financial situation is going to be at the end of the month. Because there is so much money left in Oswalt's contract - there would be about $23-25 million guaranteed at the end of July - this deal is going to come down to who has the right combination of finances and prospects to close out the deal.
I think the Angels will get involved, at the very least to try and thwart the Rangers. I think Atlanta might be a possibility, especially if the Braves feel the Mets are a threat in the division and that the Mets are pushing for Oswalt. Oswalt is shy or quiet, however, you want to describe it. If he leaves the Astros, I think the best situation for him to succeed as a "hired-gun" ace will be in a media market where the scrutiny isn't as rough as it can be in New York and Boston.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
