Last night, I took the chance to listen to the Jayson Stark interview on ESPN radio yesterday afternoon. He ran down several teams and threw a name out there that each team could be/are interested in trading for. One name that did not surprise me was Roy Oswalt to the Dodgers. I speculated about Oswalt to the Dodgers after the Dodgers signed Mark Loretta and Brad Ausmus in the offseason.
Stark did indicate that the Dodgers will be on "the best" starting pitcher that becomes available, so I do not see Dodgers GM Ned Colletti making a deal until one of Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee, and Jarrod Washburn becomes available.
Right now, I can't see the Astros trading their best pitcher, especially when they are only 4 games out of the lead in the NL Central. The Astros have historically been a very good second half team, so they will wait till the very last day or so before deciding whether to become a buyer or a seller.
There have been no indications of which direction the Astros are headed, but should they become sellers, they could look to the Dodgers who are looking for that veteran ace starting pitcher to carry them into the playoffs and beyond this year.
Dodgers GM Ned Colletti would have to give up some of his young pitching prospects for sure, so one can surmise that AAA starter Scott Elbert, and AAA starter/major league reliever James McDonald will be on Astros GM Ed Wade's radar. In fact, the Dodgers would love to have Wade include middle reliever Latroy Hawkins in a deal should he become available as well. Wade could do well trading Oswalt to re-stock his depleted farm system.
The Astros also have needs at 3B and SS long term, so the Dodgers could throw in AAA 3Bman Blake Dewitt or High A 3Bman Pedro Baez, who will be representing the Dodgers in the Futures game during the All-Star break. Colletti could throw in SS Chin-Lung Hu for good measure.
Would Elbert, McDonald, Hu and Baez be enough in return for ace starting pitcher Roy Oswalt?