News & Rumors: Oswalt's & Happ's debuts, Lilly, Theriot, Yankees, Cubs, Dodgers, Dunn, Jackson, ChiSox

- Roy Oswalt made his Philadelphia Phillies debut tonight after coming over yesterday in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Astros. His first start with his new team, Oswalt looked to make a good first impression.

So much for that.

Oswalt gave up five runs, four of which were earned, seven hits and walked two while only getting four strikeouts while hitting two batters over 6.0 innings in his debut against the Washington Nationals, leading to an 8-1 loss.

"I came out amped up, held the ball a little tight," said Oswalt, "Didn't really start feeling better until the last two innings. Didn't really go my way."

Oswalt now falls to 6-13 with a 3.53 ERA. His 13 losses lead the majors.

- On the other hand, J.A. Happ, the young left-handed pitcher who was traded for Oswalt, also made his debut tonight for the Houston Astros. Happ also looked to make a good first impression with a new ballclub that valued him so highly as to trade Roy Oswalt for him.

How'd his night go?

Happ, for lack of a better term, dominated the Milwaukee Brewers in his first start for the Astros. Over 6.0 shut-out innings, he gave up two hits, walked four and struck out six. The Astros would hang on to beat the Brewers 5-0 to get Happ his first win as an Astro. It was also Lance Berkman's last game as an Astro, though he did not play.

Happ is now 2-0 on the season with a 1.27 ERA and 15 strikeouts over 21.1 innings.

- According to MLBTradeRumors, the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers are discussing two trades: one that would send LHP Ted Lilly to the Dodgers, and one that would send Lilly and SS Ryan Theriot to the Dodgers. Ed Price of AOL FanHouse and Jayson Stark of ESPN report that the New York Yankees are also involved in the Lilly-Theriot talks, as they could either be involved as a third team in a three-team deal, or they could acquire Lilly and Theriot for themselves.

Lilly, a former Yankee, Expo, Athletic and Blue Jay, is 3-8 with a 3.69 ERA in 117.0 innings on the season for a dismal Cubs team. A workhorse who pitched over 200.0 innings back-to-back from 2007-2008 before missing some starts in 2009 with injury, most of his losses are due to poor run support and a lackluster bullpen. Lilly is a free agent at the end of the season and is making $4.3 million for the rest of the year.

Theriot, an infielder who has played mainly second base and shortstop in his career, is a "grinder." He's got wheels, stealing 16/22 bases in 95 games this season, and has stolen over 20 the past three seasons. A slap hitter, Theriot is a career .288 hitter who doesn't hit for much power, his career-high seven home runs coming last season. This season, he's hitting .285 with 1 home run and 21 RBIs as well as having 110 hits. Theriot is owed $867,000 for the remainder of the year and is under team control through 2012.

For the Yankees, Lilly, 34, would slide into Andy Pettitte's spot in the rotation until he returns from injury and join his former team, while Theriot, 30, would be the Yankees' utility infielder. If the Yankees were to acquire Lilly and Theriot, in addition to Berkman and Austin Kearns before the deadline, that would be one hell of a haul. Nothing's imminent yet.

Update, 10:53 - The Dodgers and Cubs are nearing a deal reports ESPN's Buster Olney.

- With the idea that they would flip him for slugger Adam Dunn of the Washington Nationals, the Chicago White Sox acquired RHP Edwin Jackson from the Arizona Diamondbacks for top pitching prospect Dan Hudson and another pitcher. The Nationals, who coveted Jackson, stated that E-Jax was key in a trade for Dunn, who the White Sox have been linked to. However, when the White Sox approached the Nationals about a trade for Dunn, Nats' GM Mike Rizzo was unsure if he still wanted Jackson, according to Buster Olney.

The White Sox, obviously frustrated, broke off negotiations with the Nationals for Dunn late Friday night and took themselves "out of the running."

You can imagine how upset they must be, trading their top pitching prospect for a pitcher that they never wanted. Ouch.

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal finds it difficult to see an Adam Dunn trade happening, especially with the Yankees, who were interested in Dunn, acquiring Berkman today, and the White Sox taking themselves out of the running. The only team with "some" interest left is the Tampa Bay Rays, who balked at a demand of RHP Matt Garza (who just threw a no-hitter) for Dunn. It's unlikely at this point that Dunn will be moved.