Astros Trade Talks

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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bb/4082885.html

Astros take Oswalt off market after including ace in discussions involving Tejada

The Astros still want to acquire Miguel Tejada, but they're not going to give up ace righthander Roy Oswalt to get the All-Star shortstop in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles.

General manager Tim Purpura had made it clear he was open to discussing any Astros player who doesn't have a no-trade clause, including Oswalt, heading into the non-waiver trading deadline at 3 p.m. today.

But Purpura and the Astros have let the Orioles know that Oswalt is no longer on the market, according to a top National League Central official with intimate knowledge of the trade talks.

As a policy, Purpura doesn't publicly address names in trade rumors, but a top front-office executive with an American League East team told the Chronicle that the Orioles were never offered a package of Oswalt, Morgan Ensberg and Adam Everett for Tejada, as the Baltimore Sun reported. Had such a proposal been made, the AL East official said, the Orioles would have accepted.

The executive said Oswalt was, however, offered in another package for Tejada, and the Astros didn't deny it.

Although Oswalt isn't on the table anymore, the Astros haven't given up the quest to upgrade their offense.

"We're still open," Purpura said Sunday night. "We'd like to make a deal, but it's got to be a good deal."

Astros owner Drayton McLane and Purpura have explored and listened to several trade scenarios in an attempt to upgrade an offense that has been the main reason the team has fallen seven games under .500, six games behind the Cincinnati Reds in the National League wild-card race and 9 1/2 games behind the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals.

"We've looked at all the combinations," McLane said after the Astros informed teams Sunday night that Oswalt was not available. "I didn't say they were on the market. We considered all different types of offers.

" We did consider all combinations. Almost everybody on our team was considered. We're just not going to comment (further) at this stage. At the correct time, we will. There have been no definite players we've talked about."

The Astros fell short in their quest to acquire slugger Carlos Lee from the Milwaukee Brewers before he was dealt Friday to the Texas Rangers, who have inquired about struggling Astros closer Brad Lidge.

The Astros also have been trying to land left fielder/second baseman Alfonso Soriano from the Washington Nationals. While Tejada still has three years remaining on his contract, Soriano is less attractive because he can become a free agent after this season.

Tejada, who won the 2002 AL Most Valuable Player Award with the Oakland A's and is hitting .330 with 19 home runs and 77 RBIs this season, or Soriano would provide a boost to an Astros offense that ranks 14th in the National League in runs. Soriano is hitting .286 with 32 home runs, 64 RBIs and 26 stolen bases.

"We've certainly been working hard to work out (a trade on) several players," McLane said from his home in Temple. "We've worked hard on Carlos Lee. It wouldn't be right to comment on those two (Tejada and Soriano) that are still in the process."

One reason the Astros would be reluctant to part with Oswalt is that he is the only established veteran pitcher under the team's control beyond this year.

Oswalt is 8-7 with a 3.23 ERA in the final season of a two-year, $16.9 million contract. He is eligible for arbitration after this season and can't become a free agent until after the 2007 season.

Andy Pettitte will be a free agent and has indicated he's not sure he'll want to play beyond this year. Roger Clemens, who will turn 44 on Friday, also might retire after this season.

Oswalt was the Most Valuable Player in the National League Championship Series last October after holding the Cardinals to two runs over 14 innings while going 2-0. That led McLane to reward the Mississippi native with the gift of a bulldozer.

Based on his friendship with McLane, Oswalt put off a family trip to Mississippi to participate in the All-Star Game on July 11 at Pittsburgh's PNC Park.

[lonestar]

I can't even put into words how mad I would be if they traded Oswalt. :evil:

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Me either.. :twisted:

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Astros upset over failed Tejada deal

It was going to be a blockbuster – Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada for Astros right-hander Roy Oswalt, shortstop Adam Everett and a third player.

The Astros believed that such a deal was close Friday night, but barring a last-minute shift, Oswalt won't be going anywhere, and Tejada might not be, either.

The Rangers continue to pursue Tejada, according to a major-league official, but the Astros and Angels no longer are engaging in active discussions with the Orioles.

The Astros, major-league sources say, are steamed that Orioles owner Peter Angelos apparently quashed the original Oswalt-Tejada deal as well as several revised proposals.

But there may have been another issue.

The Astros, one major-league executive says, feared that the Orioles would flip Oswalt, their most prized acquisition for Tejada, to Houston's cross-state rival, the Texas Rangers.

A National League executive disputes that theory, saying the Astros "knew all along" that the Orioles were trying to flip Oswalt. The executive says that the Orioles indiscreetly shopped all of the players they were offered to other clubs, calling it "no way to do business."

The Orioles apparently intended to trade Oswalt to the Rangers for third baseman Hank Blalock, Class AAA shortstop Joaquin Arias and one of the Rangers' top three pitching prospects – left-hander John Danks, right-hander Thomas Diamond or right-hander Edison Volquez.

The Orioles also would have ended up with two other players from the Astros – Everett and possibly third baseman Morgan Ensberg – effectively making the deal a 5-for-1 for Tejada.

Presumably, the Orioles then would have spun one of the third basemen, Blalock or Ensberg, or moved one of them to first, while moving their current third baseman, Melvin Mora, back to the outfield.

For the Astros, losing Oswalt to the Rangers could have been a public-relations nightmare, evoking memories of when Nolan Ryan went from Houston to Texas. The Astros had similar concerns when Roger Clemens was courted by the Rangers as a free agent last spring.

However, a second N.L. executive says the Astros would have been less concerned about Oswalt going to the Rangers than their biggest N.L. Central rival, the Cardinals.

While the Astros' inclusion of Oswalt in the Tejada discussions seems shocking, this almost certainly will not be the last time Oswalt's name surfaces in trade discussions.

Oswalt, 28, is a free agent after the 2007 season. He is expected to seek a contract of at least five years. And his injury history and slight, 6-foot, 185-pound frame make him a long-term risk.

As for Tejada, the Orioles still have a chance to trade him to the Rangers for a similar package, a major-league official says. But that might be their only chance to complete a Tejada blockbuster.

The Angels, who offered the Orioles a package of right-hander Ervin Santana and Class AAA shortstop Erick Aybar for Tejada, also have pulled out of the Tejada discussions, the official says.

The Dodgers are not actively pursuing Tejada, other sources say.

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:twisted: It was close though! To Close.

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Listening to ESPN closely now. It's 2:30 PM and the deadline is approaching..

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http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/2006/07/oswalt_lidge_te.html