Phillies acquire RHP Roy Oswalt from Astros for LHP J.A. Happ and two prospects

After an agreement was reached this morning between the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies to send Astros' ace RHP Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia for LHP J.A. Happ, OF Anthony Gose, SS Jonathan Villar and $11 million. All that was needed was for Oswalt to waive his no-trade clause.

At 2:30 PM Thursday, Oswalt waived his no-trade clause and will now join the Phillies for the players and money mentioned above.

Oswalt, 32, will now join a formidable Phillies' rotation that includes ace Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels. Oswalt will slide into the #2 stater role, giving the Phillies two aces. This season, Oswalt is 6-12 with a 3.42 ERA while playing for a terrible Astros' team who has blown many games for him by lack of run support and a terrible bullpen.

"I'm glad it worked out for both of us. I wanted to go to a contender, and Houston gets some good prospects in return who will hopefully allow them to build a winning team," Oswalt said.

"The hardest part about it is cleaning out my locker. I've been in the same place for 10 years and having to say goodbye and clean out the locker is the toughest part," he said.

"I'm at a point in my career where I just want a chance to get back to the World Series like I did in '05 with Houston," he said. "I'm excited to be going to Philly. I love watching Roy Halladay pitch and I think with him and Cole Hamels the three of us can feed off each other."

Oswalt, a back-to-back 20 game winner from 2004-2005, is a legitimate ace and will bolster a resurgent Phillies team. The Phillies sit just 3.5 games behind the Braves in the NL East and 2.5 out in the Wild Card behind the San Francisco Giants. Adding Oswalt should help the Phillies overcome either of these deficits.

In return, Houston gets LHP J.A. Happ, who finished second in the 2009 Rookie of the Year voting with a 12-4 record and a 2.93 ERA. A highly regarded left-handed pitcher, Happ helped the Philllies reach the World Series last year. Although he was defeated in his only World Series start, he was a dominant force and was the Phillies' best starter, along with Cliff Lee, during the regular season. Happ will immediately join the Astros' rotation as the #2 starter behind now #1 starter Brett Myers.

The Astros also get former 2008 second round pick and outfielder Anthony Gose. Gose, 19, was ranked sixth among Phillies' prospects by Baseball America going into the season. A player known for his speed and not so much his bat, Gose stole 76 bases for Single-A last season and has stolen 36 so far for Single-A+ this season. He has a decent bat, hitting a career-high .263 this season with a career-high 4 home runs. He plays solid defense and has an above-average throwing arm. Gose reminds me of almost a Brett Gardner/Juan Pierre type player.

Houston additionally receives young shortstop Jonathan Villar. Villar, 19, is currently at Single-A, sporting a .272 average with 2 home runs, 36 RBIs and 38 stolen bases. He's a solid contact hitter who won't hit for power at all. BaseballAmerica says that Villar has "plus tools across the board except for power," but he has yet to prove it. Villar also needs some serious work on his defense at shortstop, as he has committed 42 errors this season, through 99 games.

The Phillies will not pick up Oswalt's option for 2012 at $16 million and will instead buy him out for an additional $1 million which, when added to the original cost, is $2 million.

I think the Phillies got a steal in this trade. Happ is 27 already, Gose is mainly a speed/defense prospect, and Villar is terrible defensively and hasn't met expectations. I'm shocked that top first base prospect Jonathan Singleton wasn't included in the deal, ditto for pitcher Vance Worley. Being able to keep both of them is a steal. I don't think losing Gose or Villar will hurt Phillies' fans. I don't know what the Astros were thinking when they asked for these prospects, especially since they are also paying $11 million for Oswalt. Seeing as the Phillies get Oswalt for an additional year after this, and did not have to pick up his option, this was an absolute great trade and steal for the Phillies.

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In other news, the Baltimore Orioles hired former ESPN analyst and former Yankees, Rangers, and Dbacks manager Buck Showalter. Showalter brings his 882-833 managerial record back to the field and gets a contract that runs through 2013.