I can’t see McLane wanting to trade Oswalt, but I can definitely see Oswalt asking to be traded. The Astros probably would try to talk him out of it, but if Oswalt publicly criticizes McLane, he’s out the door.

Ahh, yes… the Billy Wagner Maneuver.

in the current state of the market. That may change by mid-season or next season, who knows. But, right now, there appears to be a very limited number of teams willing/able to take on Oswalt, financially. And those teams have free agent choices, like Lowe and Sheets, whom they can turn to for an equivalent financial cost, without giving up top prospects. After trading prospects for Vazquez, the Braves probably aren’t in a position to give up a lot for Oswalt. The Yankees seem to have filled up their rotation, and those Sabbathia and Burnett contracts would limit their interest now. Even the big spending Cubs were limited in their ability to trade for Peavy, because they would have to clear salary space first. I could go on and talk about the other few potential trading partners, but you get the idea.

So, I’m not sure that the Astros are in a position to satisfy a trade demand, even if one was made.