by Todd Zolecki on mlb.com
Hunter Pence had heard the speculation he could be traded to Philadelphia, so he approached Roy Halladay earlier this month at the All-Star Game in Phoenix and asked him about everything Philly.
Halladay happily obliged.
“I didn’t think of it as a sales pitch at the time, but I think I did a pretty good job,” Halladay said. Read the rest of this entry »
by Jayson Stark on ESPN.com
There was a flurry of action revolving around the Astros’ 28-year-old energizer (Hunter Pence) Thursday or, at the very least, a whole lot of breaking news stories that told us that flurry was engulfing the Astros as relentlessly as a midsummer Texas mosquito attack.
But by late Thursday night, there was evidence the Red Sox, Reds, Pirates and Indians had peeled off after hearing the price tag, leaving only the Phillies and Braves. And by Friday, indications were the Phillies were essentially the last team standing.
The Braves, according to sources, offered a package that included prospects they weren’t willing to dangle in front of the Mets on Carlos Beltran — but got shut down. One source who spoke with the Braves’ brass Friday came away convinced they were out of it and moving on.
So that leaves the Phillies, who have made Pence far and away their No. 1 target. But because the Phillies and Astros haven’t been able to agree on players beyond the Phillies’ initial offer, other clubs reported Friday they’re now exploring potential three-team deals to put the pieces together.
The reason for that: The Phillies initially offered their two best prospects, pitcher Jarred Cosart and first baseman Jonathan Singleton, and were told that wasn’t enough. The Phillies then offered to include their right fielder, Domonic Brown. But the Astros, according to one team that spoke with them, would prefer to spin Brown elsewhere for multiple prospects than take him themselves.
So both clubs have been contacting other teams, trying to construct a creative enough deal to work for everybody. According to an official of one club that got drawn into those talks, the chances of that happening are “50-50.” But it sure won’t be because they aren’t actively trying.
The Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros have reached an agreement with the Houston Astros. The deal for Oswalt is believed to be in exchange for three players including J.A. Happ, minor league right hander Vance Worley, and another (currently unknown) minor leaguer. None of these details have yet been confirmed.
Happ, who just returned to the team on Sunday after missing all but hist first two starts, was drafted by the Phillies in the third round of the 2004 amateur draft. Current Astros GM Ed Wade was the Phillies’ GM at the time. Happ is scheduled to make just $470,000 this season and is still several years away from free agency
The trade is pending the approval of Roy Oswalt, who has a no trade clause. Oswalt has balked at opportunities to join the Phillies in the past but recently indicated a willingness to join the team. Oswalt had indicated that he would like time to make the decision, however, and this is likely why the trade happened several days prior to Saturday’s deadline.
According to Ben Nicholson-Smith of mlbtraderumors.com, Roy Oswalt is using his no trade clause to attempt to leverage the Phillies into picking up his $16 million option for 2012. The Phils have balked and this is why a trade has not yet been consumated between the Phillies and Astros.
In addition, Smith says that the Phillies have discussed trading Jayson Werth to the Tampa Bay Rays requesting either BJ Upton or Wade Davis in return and refusing to take on any of Werth’s remaining $2.8 million in 2010 salary.
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