The Mets and Roy Oswalt

Rumors are circulating that the Mets are "trying like crazy" to get Oswalt from the Astros. We all know that the Astros want to keep Oswalt and that the only reason they would part with him is if someone offered them such an amazing deal that they couldn't pass it up. The Mets just don't have that kind of prospects. Their top trading chip, Lastings Milledge, is currently being relied on to sure up the outfield while Moises Alou and Endy Chavez are hurting. Even if they had a surplus of outfielders, the Mets still couldn't pry Oswalt away by trading Milledge as his value is quite low at the moment.

That said, if a contender really wanted Oswalt they might be able to snag him. Let's take the Dodgers for example. If they offered Russel Martin AND Matt Kemp they might be able to convince the 'Stros to give him up. But we know that won't happen. From the Braves perspective, Oswalt is actually not what we need. The braves have two front of the rotation starters. Both Smoltz and Hudson could carry the moniker with little problem in today's pitching light NL. But the question is not "Should we get Oswalt?" it's "Can we get Oswalt?" As I've said before it is possible. If the Braves were willing to part with Salty, Escobar, and Harrison that might get it done. However, that's a bounty the Braves can't afford. Perhaps by including younger talent (Elvis) they could salvage Harrison. A package of Salty, Elvis, Jo-Jo and another pitcher might get it done. But again, we're talking 3 of the top 5 braves prospects.

Braves fans, we need to face facts. We have some good prospects, just no Great prospects (Yes Salty is Vary Good, still not Great). That is likely enough to pull off a trade fro a 3rd or 4th starter but likely not a #1 like Oswalt. That said, i do like what the Pirates are peddling (Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny) but I'm not sure that the price is worth the return. Either way, Salty needs to play and his value is not maximized at 1B. Salty needs to catch.

Free Salty, free him to catch.