NEW YORK • The Cardinals always felt they were a "long shot" to land Houston ace Roy Oswalt, as one executive said early in their pursuit, and it wasn't only because of an inability or unwillingness to meet the asking price in prospects.
Baseball geography was a hurdle as Houston remained hesitant to move Oswalt within the National League Central, let alone with a rival.
The Philadelphia Phillies landed Roy Oswalt in a trade with Houston on Thursday, and after a late check on their chances the Cardinals continued other conversations with potential fits. With less than two days remaining before Saturday afternoon's nonwaiver trade deadline, they seek a second-tier pitcher and, if possible, a starting infielder.
"We explore a lot of things," Mozeliak said leaving Citi Field after the team's 4-0 loss to the New York Mets. "We go down the road and sometimes things work out and a lot of times they don't. ... We still have a lot of balls in the air."
The Cardinals have kept connected on other additions they could make to the rotation. Cleveland righthander Jake Westbrook remains a possibility, and Colorado's Aaron Cook has surfaced as a potential fit. Cardinals officials have said that they have payroll flexibility — not just to add on for this season but to acquire a player with a contract beyond 2010. Cook has an $11 million mutual option for 2011 and a $1 million increase if he's traded. That's a hefty $14.25 million price tag with the rest of this year's salary included.
The sinkerballer is 4-7 with a 5.08 ERA this season for the Rockies, and he lost all three of his road starts this month.
For Oswalt, the Astros were seeking a major league or major league-ready player, two prospects and a third minor-leaguer, according to an executive from a team that checked on the righthander's availability. To get him, the Phillies shipped starter J.A. Happ — that essential "major league" element of the deal — and two minor-leaguers.
Such big financial blocks were only a part of the moving parts that limited the Cardinals' chances of landing Oswalt. According to a source with knowledge of what the Astros told interested teams, the Cardinals were Oswalt's "first choice." Still, the Astros, according to others, had reservations about putting their ace with a division foe for this season and beyond.
Mozeliak declined to speak about a specific player, but he outlined the situation the Cardinals ran into in general terms when trading with a division rival.
"I always think it's a hurdle," he said. "Especially when you're not talking about two months. You're talking about someone you'll have for multiple years."
During the series in New York, a Cardinals official sought to play down the team's chances of making a deal before this weekend's nonwaiver deadline. Mozeliak offered that the team didn't want to add "a Band-Aid" pickup, preferring to move for impact or move on with status quo. Another team official said he still had "hope" of adding a pitcher.
The Cardinals have found the market for infielders less than they hoped. The Cardinals contacted the Baltimore Orioles about Miguel Tejada but didn't see a fit for the third baseman, who went to San Diego in a deal announced Thursday afternoon by the Padres. Arizona has shortstop Stephen Drew and second baseman Kelly Johnson, either of whom would fit the Cardinals' interest, but Arizona's urgency to move two arbitration-eligible players may be minimal.
After shipping Oswalt to Philly, the Astros sent one of the minor-leaguers they received to Toronto for Brett Wallace. The first baseman was the Cardinals' top prospect a year ago before they packaged him for Matt Holliday. Wallace has been with four teams in the past 13 months, and he's been at least a tangential part of mega-deals involving All-Stars Holliday, Roy Halladay and now Oswalt.
On moving onward in potential trade talks, Mozeliak said: "We've got a bead on a lot of things. ... We'll see where we are in 48 hours."
