Well, the Phillies did it again. The last two years have shown that not only are the Phillies committed to building a team to compete in the playoffs, but also that they understand how to do it. Roy Oswalt adds depth to an already scary starting rotation that features Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels with a solid 4-5 of Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick. It's hard to see anything other than a Yankees or Tampa Bay vs. Phili World Series this year.
On the other hand, the Astro's may not have done so bad themselves. The first part of the deal is J.A. Happ. At 27 last year, he was not your typical rookie, however, his 12-4 record with 2.93 ERA and 1.23 WHIP were good enough to get him second in the Rookie-of-the-Year voting. The 6'6" lefty is a solid performer, with a lot of upside. His injury this year is cause for some concern, but he is a very good piece to the Astro's rebuilding effort. The second part of the deal was two Phillies prospects, Anthony Gose and SS Jonathan Villar. Gose was immediately traded to Toronto for power hitting 1B prospect Brett Wallace -- a long term solution to Lance Berkman. Villar is a 19 year old speedster with 82 SB's in a 200 minor league games. Wallace is major league ready, and will probably get a shot when rosters expand in September. Villar is a few years away, but has some solid tools, and could be the Astros SS of the future.
All in all, both teams will benefit from this trade. The Phillies right away, as they continue their Hall of Fame SP merry-go-round. And the Astros for the future, as they add some solid pieces to their rebuilding effort.
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