Phillies/Astros Agree To Terms for Oswalt; Oswalt Will Approve

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Created on Thursday, 29 July 2010 18:54

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 May 2013 07:51

Written by Brett Clendaniel-MVPPhilly.com

There is one obstacle, however.  Only Roy Oswalt's approval is needed.

And according to multiple baseball sources, Roy Oswalt will agree to waive his no-trade clause and accept a trade to the Phillies.  Final details are now being hammered out before being formally announced.  Roy's 2012 option will not be picked up and he will be compensated with a $1-million payout for agreeing to waive his no-trade clause.

Fox 26 out of Houston first reported that the Phillies and Astros have agreed on the players to be swapped.  The two teams also agreed on how much of Oswalts remaining $23-milllion dollars the Astros would pick up.  According to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the Astros have agreed to cover a "significant portion" of Oswalt's remaining $23-mill.

ESPN's Jayson Stark is now reporting that the Astros will cover $12-million of the remaining $23-million on Oswalt's deal.

SI's Jon Heyman is reporting that the two main pieces for the Astros to obtain are last years NL Rookie of the Year runner-up LHP J.A Happ and minor-league RHP Vance Worley.  The Phillies will also send 1 or 2 younger prospects to the Astros for Oswalt.

Happ has battled injuries thus far this season, but is finally healthy.  In his stellar rookie campaign last season, Happ was 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA with 119 K's in 166 IP.  Even through the injuries, Happ has compiled a 1-0 record with a 1.76 ERA with 9 K's in 15.1 IP.

Worley was drafted by the Phillies in the 3rd round of the 2008 Amateur Draft.  This season, he began in AA before being promoted to AAA.  He has compiled a 9-4 record with a 3.03 ERA and 90 K's in 118.2 IP.  Worley has appeared in 1 game with the Phillies this season, pitching just 1 inning, striking out 2, and not allowing any runs, walks, or hits.

As for other propspects in the deal, Jayson Stark is also reporting that the Astros are extremely interested in Phillies hitting prospects Jonathan Singleton (Single-A 1B) and Matthew Rizzotti (Double-A 1B).  Singleton, considered the Phils best hitting prospect, is currently hitting .312 with 18 doubles and 12 home runs as of Thursday.  Rizzotti is batting .364 and leads the entire league in average by 52 points.

In order for this deal to go through, the ball is now 100% in Oswalt's court.  Oswalt asked to be traded to a contender months ago and Houston GM Ed Wade seems obliged to approve his request.  Oswalt, however, is said to prefer a team in the mid-west and reports have also suggested that he will not approve a trade unless the Phillies pick up his $16-million option in 2012.  Just days ago, Oswalt said that this was not the case and, instead, he would not require the option be picked up but that the trade was "right for both sides."

CSNPhilly's Jim Salisbury has reported that multiple players from the Phillies have now reached out to Oswalt to encourage the deal.  Brad Lidge and Roy Halladay have spearheaded this group.  Oswalt has also reportedly asked about the "lay of the land" in Philadelphia.  Oswalt, an avid outdoorsman, is referring to the flat land near the river in the Philadelphia suberb of Manayunk.

With the parameters in place, Oswalt will now have a day to mull this over.  He is scheduled to pitch for the Astros Friday night against Milwaukee.  Happ is also scheduled to pitch on Friday, so both teams would prefer for the trade to be done today.

If he approves the trade today, it's expected that he could make his first start for the Phightins' Friday.

More to come on this as it develops.