There is one important thing to remember when talking about where Astro's ace Roy Oswalt might end up in a trade; Oswalt has a full no-trade clause in his contract and can vetoe any trade that would send him to a team he is not interested in.
Enter the Washington Nationals. The team reportedly has a lot of interest in acquiring Oswalt to, along with Stephen Strasburg, form a rotation much better than the one they featured when they broke camp for the regular season. But would Oswalt be willing to waive his no-trade clause in favor of a trade to the suddenly relevant Nationals?
Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post's Nationals Journal is reporting that the interest the Nationals have in Oswalt may be mutual.
He cited the Nationals' offensive potential and the ensuing call-up of phenom Stephen Strasburg as reasons for his potential interest in playing in Washington.
"They've been playing well," Oswalt said. "They've got a good offensive club. I saw where they have Strasburg coming up. He should make an immediate impact, especially, because no one's seen him in the league, early. There's always a little adjustment period there."
I knew Strasburg would help bring a lot of people to the ballpark, but I didn't expect another team's best pitcher to be part of that title wave.
Its important to point out that this is not Roy Oswalt saying, "I love Washington, I love the Nationals and I would definitely accept a trade there." He is simply complimenting the organization, not saying for sure that he would accept a trade that sent him to the Nationals. But it does seem like he is more willing to accept a trade than others may have speculated.