Roy Oswalt

[PrinceFielderx1]

From ESPN

 

link

Lance

Berkman is open to the idea of waiving the no-trade clause in his

contract, and this is presumably something the hypercompetitive Roy

Oswalt also would entertain, in a year in which the Astros are off

to a terrible start and averaging about three runs a game.

 

 

 

Rival executives said in interviews this week that both players would

have trade value -- but perhaps not nearly as much as Houston owner

Drayton McLane would require.

 

 

 

If anybody has insider could you post the rest of the article? Thanks.

 

 

I would love for the Brewers to go hard after Roy Oswalt. Is it realistic?

[Invader3K]

It basically just summarizes what a lot of people have been saying, that the Astros should probably do a sell off but might not because of their owner. It also says that the Astros could eat some of Oswalt (or Berkman's salary) and demand high prospects, or trade them at face value and get only lower prospects.

 

Not sure if we'd really be a good fit for a trade with the Astros. I also don't know if taking on Oswalt's whole contract would be a good idea, although his 2012 option could be bought out for $2 million.

[prophet]

If that's the case, I don't think his contract is that much of an issue. It would only be a year plus at minimum.

[endaround]

Oswalt might force the receiving team to pick up his option to waive his no trade clause. Same with Berkman.

[Invader3K]

Yes, and just to be clear, here are the details of Oswalt's current contract (from Cot's):

 

2010:$15M, 2011:$16M, 2012:$16M club option ($2M buyout)

- Oswalt may opt out of 2012 option & take a reduced buyout.

- Full no-trade clause.

 

So that's a pretty hefty chunk of change to pay a good starter who is already 32 and seemed to have a somewhat down year last season. I just don't see how it works out, especially since the Astros probably wouldn't be motivated to give the Brewers any salary relief, being in the same division and all.

 

As an aside, if the Mariners don't bounce back, I wonder if Cliff Lee could be more attainable. Doesn't sound like he plans to sign an extension there without testing free agency.

[PrinceFielderx1]

As an aside, if the Mariners don't bounce back, I wonder if Cliff Lee could be more attainable. Doesn't sound like he plans to sign an extension there without testing free agency.

I want no part of Cliff Lee unless an extension can be worked out. No more rentals.

[davego]

I'd assume Seattle would ride Cliff out and take the picks unless the offer is to good to pass. I'm not as opposed to a rental, but only at an economical price.

[BrewCrewForever]

I sure would like to get Oswalt, but I am also not sure I want to mortgage the farm. Tough decision, I guess it depends what players would be in the deal. It's tempting because a rotation of Gallardo, Oswalt, Wolf, Bush and Narveson would be pretty solid.

[logan82]

I wouldn't mind a rental if we were in a position to contend. I think this year we are not contenders and should be sellers at the deadline. I think we are more than one good pitcher away.

[twobrewers]

From what I've heard, Oswalt wants to go someplace where he doesn't have to be "the man". He wants to be able to pitch with out all of the pressure of trying to carry a franchise. So I'm pretty confident he would not waive his no trade clause for Milwaukee.

[zzzmanwitz]

If he doesn't want to be "the man", then I don't want him on my team. I want all my players to want the ball in tough situations. That's called being a leader.

[Invader3K]

I don't know if he'd really be carrying the franchise in Milwaukee. He'd be joining Gallardo and Wolf, so it's not like he'd have to be "the stopper" every single outing.

[ILuvDaBush]

Exactly. On a team of Prince-Braun-Yo-Weeks-Hoffman...with Wolf-Counsell-Zaun, how would Oswalt expected to be anything resembling "The Man"? He and Bush can look alike and pitch alike. His competitiveness has never been questioned.

[DonMoney4Mgr]

Fast forward a month, the Brewers are somehow hanging around .500, and the Astros are still gosh awful. Would they take Bush/Narveson, Gamel (hopefully playing), Solame, and a low level prospect for Oswalt?

[nate82]

Fast forward a month, the Brewers are somehow hanging around .500, and the Astros are still gosh awful. Would they take Bush/Narveson, Gamel (hopefully playing), Solame, and a low level prospect for Oswalt?

Way too much that is just overpaying for a declining pitcher. Gamel and Salome would be well enough even Narveson and Gamel would be enough. No need to add another prospect into that deal.

[trwi7]

Oswalt said in an interview that he would want to go to a "true contender." He wouldn't accept a trade here if we're just hovering around .500. Not that I think we should make a trade for him anyways. We're closer to needing a rebuild than we are to being a contender.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/05/roy-oswalt-open-to-trade.html

[logan82]

We're closer to needing a rebuild than we are to being a contender.

 

I wouldn't trade for Oswalt this year but if we can get a nice return on Fielder we could contend by 2012 pretty easily. We really need one or two of our minor league pitchers to pan out of course and I don't' think most of those guys will be ready until 2012.

[Invader3K]

Heck, if Fielder and a couple others are traded, we could contend again next season with some appropriate off-season re-tooling. The team will have some budget room to make acquisitions. I just don't think trading for a pitcher like Oswalt fits into the equation, though.

[joepepsi]

Oswalt is likely to end up at some big market team that can afford to absorb the contract without too much thought. The Dodgers, Braves, Mets, even Phillies could use another solid starter.

[nate82]

Heck, if Fielder and a couple others are traded, we could contend again next season with some appropriate off-season re-tooling. The team will have some budget room to make acquisitions. I just don't think trading for a pitcher like Oswalt fits into the equation, though.

If you trade Fielder you could probably replace him with Dunn this off season giving Dunn a 2 or 3-year deal at about $35-40 million wouldn't be a bad idea though I'm not sure I would want to pay Dunn anything more than $13-15m a year. If the Brewers could get Dunn for 3-years at $36m I could go for that. I'm just not sure that will be a wise move with the Brewers still needing pitching and the only big pitcher that is going to be on the market will be Lee and the Brewers would have to pay Lee about $18-20m a year for him for around 5-6 years.

[DHonks]

of course Nate, you can re-sign out boy Branyan for 2 years and $6 million for 1b and he'll do the same as Dunn. The problem is we need some guys that hit like Cirillo and Loretta, not all boppers.

[nate82]

of course Nate, you can re-sign out boy Branyan for 2 years and $6 million for 1b and he'll do the same as Dunn. The problem is we need some guys that hit like Cirillo and Loretta, not all boppers.

Dunn though has a great OBP. Plus you normally don't put a Cirillo or a Loretta type in the big RBI spot. So you need the big bopper in that spot. Other than Braun and Fielder there are no other big boppers in the lineup. I'm not sold on Branyan staying healthy for a 1/2 of a season and then you would have to platoon him at 1B. I would rather just spend some extra money on Dunn than get two players to play one position that shouldn't need an extra player at that position. McGehee is close enough to a Loretta type for me in the lineup. If the Brewers can get more production out of the RF spot Dunn should be a good to a great addition at 1B. I would rather replace Fielder with someone like Dunn than Cirillo or Loretta types.

 

So if you replace Fielder with Dunn you basically almost have the same offense. Where you would want Cirillo and Loretta types would be at Catcher and RF which I think the Brewers could easily find internally or externally. Cain, Lucroy, Salome, and Gamel or the Brewers could go the cheap route when trading Fielder and just go with those four and no free agent acquisitions. I don't see the Brewers being able to upgrade the pitching situation through free agency next year so the pitching staff we have right now will probably be the same that we will have next year.

[Invader3K]

Branyan hasn't played in more than 120 MLB games since 2002. He cannot stay healthy over a whole season. Dunn is a level above Branyan as a player and if we do deal Fielder and need a stopgap option for a couple years at 1B, Dunn would be a great option. I think he might be too expensive though.

[nate82]

Branyan hasn't played in more than 120 MLB games since 2002. He cannot stay healthy over a whole season. Dunn is a level above Branyan as a player and if we do deal Fielder and need a stopgap option for a couple years at 1B, Dunn would be a great option. I think he might be too expensive though.

Yeah that is what I was thinking but you know ownership is going to want to keep people in the ballpark so I wouldn't be surprised if the Brewers management went for someone like Dunn and say hey we are trying approach if they trade Fielder. The better scenario would be to see what the Brewers have with Gamel and see if he will stick at 1B.

[logan82]

For the money Fielder is likely to demand we could probably get both Dunn and Weeks.