Breaking It Down – Oswalt Traded To Philly

07/29/2010 3:02 PM -  Fred Zinkie

The Phillies always seem to get what they want.  Last summer it was Cliff Lee.  In the winter it was Roy Halladay and this summer it was Roy Oswalt.  While teams like the Cardinals made their best pitch, it was once again Philadelphia that got the most aggressive and found a way to get the deal done.  While the Braves start to seriously worry about their chances of holding the division lead, let’s take a look at the fantasy baseball implications of the trade:

Roy Oswalt – We like him much better in Philly.  It’s true that their home park is a little tougher than Houston’s but that should easily be offset by the greater run support he will receive.  Also, Oswalt arrives in Philadelphia without any pressure to lead his staff.  He can simply take his turn in the rotation and settle in as their number two or three starter.  If you own Oswalt, your life just got a little bit better.

J.A. Happ – It’s tough to measure this deal for Happ.  At first glance, it doesn’t look like a positive move for his value.  His best case scenario would have been for the Phillies to fail to land a starter.  They would have been pretty much forced to leave him in their rotation and hope that he could recreate his 2009 magic.  Of course the downside for him would have been if they acquired Oswalt without sending Happ the other way.  Then he would have been battling just to stay in the rotation.  As it stands, Happ is going to be a useful NL-Only pitcher.  He will take his regular turn in their rotation and should be decent.  But, we aren’t expecting great results from him and it is hard to win a lot of games on the Astros this year without pitching really well.  Owners in deep mixed leagues can keep an eye on his schedule and consider him for two-start weeks or favorable match-ups.