MLB Fantasy Trade Market: Roy Oswalt

A fantasy baseball season is marked by stages -- it has to be, considering how long a baseball season is and how many games are played in the course of a year. At the beginning of 2010, fantasy baseball was again shiny and new, like when you hear the ol' familiar Christmas tunes for the first time in the winter season.

The second stage of a fantasy baseball season involves the elite prospects being recalled by their major league teams and fought over by fantasy owners nationwide. We've just about cleared that stage in 2010 -- only Pedro Alvarez remains of the blue-chippers certain to be recalled, while Stephen Strasburg, Buster Posey, Carlos Santana and Mike Stanton are already contributing to fantasy teams.

The next stage of the season is right around the corner -- trade time, not for fantasy owners (who have likely pulled off multiple trades by this point anyway), but for major league clubs. The effect of trading season is felt most by mono-league fantasy players, who have been awarded Cliff Lee, Matt Holliday and CC Sabathia (among others) in recent years. Even those that play in mixed leagues feel the effect of trading season.

Rather than be reactionary with this important time of the year, let's look ahead and figure out some of the things that we fantasy owners can expect in 2010.

Roy Oswalt, SP, Astros

After posting an ERA over 3.54 for the first time in his career last year, Oswalt had many people jumping ship. He was available at quite a bargain price for those willing to buy into the possibility that last year's "terrible" 4.12 ERA was an anomaly. So far, those astute owners have been rewarded.

Oswalt currently has a Oswaltian 3.16 ERA and 1.09 WHIP, along with 82 Ks in 85 1/3 innings. To give you an idea of how good that K rate is, he hasn't struck out more than a batter an inning since his rookie season in 2001. Still, a 4-8 record and another terrible showing by the Astros has Oswalt ready to be traded to a contender.

Any contender interested in adding the ace must take on quite a salary; of course, if a team is willing to trade Houston a quality prospect as well as a major league-ready arm, the Astros should be prepared to eat a sizable portion of that salary.

Speculation on Monday had the Rangers close to acquiring Oswalt, and the club would be a natural fit for the longtime Texas star. The Mets, Yankees, Phillies and Cardinals have also been mentioned as possibilities, but I wouldn't discount the Angels bringing Oswalt in. They're a perennial contender, and Scott Kazmir has flopped since coming to the club. The Angels may be able to convince Houston to take Kazmir and his slightly cheaper salary back in a deal if a quality prospect is on the table.

For fantasy purposes, his best destination would be San Diego. The Padres are surprisingly in first place in the NL West, and although their pitchers have posted the best ERA in the league, there's a feeling that the rotation is getting by with smoke and mirrors.

We'll tackle the rest of the MLB Trade Market in an upcoming article ...