While things change by the hour around this time of year, the latest trade rumors involving Roy Oswalt have him eventually landing in St. Louis. And based on recent reports, it sounds as if he wouldn’t mind wearing red and white at some point this season either. (Who could blame him? He pitches for the Astros, who dodge being the butt of jokes only because the Pirates have yet to climb out of the suckhole they fell into during the early 90s.)

Money (he’s owed $16 mil next season) and compensation (the Cards may have to part with top prospect Shelby Miller) remain the biggest hurdles in any trade involving Oswalt and the Cardinals, but the question of whether or not teams should trade within their division is relevant in this scenario as well.

Should teams avoid trading within their division? Is it wise for a general manager to either trade for, or deal a star that could come back and haunt them in the future? It still happens of course, but it’s always a topic of discussion when the trade deadline nears.

This may be a simplistic take on the subject, but isn’t the purpose for any GM to help their team win (either presently or in the future)? Isn’t that what a trade boils down to in the end?

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One day after reports surfaced that the Phillies were on the verge of acquiring Roy Oswalt via a trade, Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports hears that the Cardinals are now the front-runners for the Astros’ ace.

In fact, the Astros have been talking with Cardinals GM John Mozeliak for several days now, and Oswalt is quite amenable to go to St. Louis if the teams can agree on what players will head back to Houston. For their part, the Cardinals are convinced that matching Roy Oswalt up with Dave Duncan would take a guy who is already an ace and turn him back into the Cy Young candidate he was a few years ago. I’ll stop believing stuff like that when Dave Duncan actually fails for once. Which I wouldn’t bet on, frankly.

Of course, the big issue everyone has been talking about today has been Oswalt’s desire that his 2012 option be picked up. That’s $16 million, and that ain’t hay. My source tells me, however, that Oswalt would be willing to work with the Cardinals to make the option more palatable, possibly in terms of deferring some money. The sides aren’t quite that far yet.

The other issue is that the Cardinals’ farm system is tapped out, outside of top prospect Shelby Miller, who was the club’s first round pick in 2009.

Would St. Louis be willing to give up Miller and take on Oswalt’s salary? That’s a reach, especially considering Oswalt and Albert Pujols are each due to make $16 million in 2011, Matt Holliday is set to make $17 million, Chris Carpenter $15 million, Adam Wainwright $6.5 million and Kyle Lohse $11.9 million. That’s a lot of dough for six players and that doesn’t even include Ryan Ludwick, who is due a raise soon.

Speaking purely from a baseball standpoint, Oswalt makes every bit of sense for the Cardinals. But it’s a whole other story from a financial perspective.

Several heavy-hitters in the media are proclaiming that the Phillies are on the verge of making a couple of trades.

The first involves Jayson Werth, who is currently hitting .283 with 13 home runs and 50 RBI. ESPN’s Buster Olney and Jayson Stark report that the Rays are involved in discussions for the outfielder, who is a free agent at the end of the season and is unlikely to be re-signed in Philadelphia.

The second trade rumor involving the Phillies has Astros’ ace Roy Oswalt as the key piece. Stark reports that the Phillies have spent a lot of time exploring a deal for Oswalt, who won’t come cheap seeing as how he’s still owed $16 million next season and has a $16 million club option for 2012 (or a $2 million buyout).

While a trade for Oswalt would certainly bolster the Phillies’ starting rotation, is a move like that wise for GM Ruben Amaro Jr. to make? It’s not like his club is one starting pitcher away from fixing all of their current problems, even if that one starting pitcher is Oswalt. Plus, this is a team that needs to start preparing for the future and giving up more prospects in a knee-jerk trade in attempts to win now might not be the most advantageous move.

We’ll see how this plays out.

MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports that talks between the Rangers and Mariners are heating up for pitcher Cliff Lee, although nothing is imminent at this point and there is still plenty of time before the July 31 trade deadline.

The Rangers have been actively looking for a front-line starting pitcher, they have made no secret that Lee is their top priority and they have the Minor League prospects to get him here. As far as talent in the farm system, the Rangers openly believe they are in far better position to acquire a major piece before the Trade Deadline than most any other team.

The club is still limited by financial constraints but Daniels admitted last week there is still some flexibility in the budget for the Rangers to do something before the July 31 Trade Deadline. The club has not been involved in the International amateur signing period for Latin American players this month in attempt to hold back final resources for the Trade Deadline.

There is little doubt that the Rangers have the talent to make the deal. The Mariners are reportedly looking for a big bat for their lineup and the Rangers have both Justin Smoak at the Major League level and Chris Davis at Triple-A Oklahoma City.

The Rangers are also deep in Minor League pitching although indications are they are not interested in talking about Tanner Scheppers or Martin Perez. But Derek Holland and Blake Beavan could be two names that might interest the Mariners.

I’ve maintained that Roy Oswalt would be a great fit for the Rangers, although the same hurdles (i.e. Texas’ financial restrictions) still apply. I would have to imagine that Oswalt would come cheaper (in terms of prospects) than Lee, but it’s tough to speculate what the asking price would be for either pitcher.

Here’s some food for thought when it comes to any deal involving Oswalt: At least one GM has stated that Houston’s Ed Wade is a tad difficult to deal with when it comes to trades. In a recent poll conducted by ESPN’s Buster Onley, it was said that Wade is always willing to talk, “but it seems like he’s never willing to put himself in a position to risk anything.”

According to ESPN.com, the Rangers will have to change their bankruptcy plan to avoid having it killed by upset creditors.

In a ruling issued Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge D. Michael Lynn in Fort Worth said creditors and team owners were adversely affected by the Rangers’ plan. That plan calls for paying creditors $75 million and selling the team to a group led by Hall of Fame pitcher and team president Nolan Ryan and Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg.

The judge didn’t take issue with the $75 million figure but with some creditors’ rights being removed.

The ruling allows the team and two groups of creditors to vote on the plan. Because creditors have said they would vote against it, the Rangers are expected to change the plan before any vote happens.

Rumors have it that the Rangers are interested in acquiring a pitcher (they’ve already been linked to Roy Oswalt) at the trade deadline this year. But in their current financial state, I don’t know how they’ll be able to pull that off unless Major League Baseball pays at least part of the player’s salary.

It would unfair to the current players if the Rangers couldn’t acquire a much-needed arm in order to get them to the postseason because of their financial mess, but those are the breaks.

Some pitchers give up 1-2 home runs or more per game, while some of them are masters at keeping the ball in the park. We did a gopher ball list last year, so here is the opposite…the pitchers who give up the fewest home runs per nine innings, and therefore the guys you want in the game when the game is on the line:

1. Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees (0.4953)—Amazingly, Rivera gave up 11 home runs his rookie year (1995) and since then, only 50. That’s 50 home runs in like 15 years, or about 3 per season. That’s just sick. No wonder the guy has so many career saves (538).

2. Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves (0.7141)—If only Hudson was able to stay healthy for any length of time, he’d be a lock for the Hall of Fame.

3. Derek Lowe, Atlanta Braves (0.7221)—When you have a ball that drops like six feet before it reaches home plate, you’re not going to have a lot of hitters get under your pitches. What you’ll get are lots of ground balls.

4. Aaron Cook, Colorado Rockies (0.7384)—If you’re a pitcher in Colorado, it’s sort of like being a meatball sandwich in a pizza joint. You’ll get noticed, but only when they run out of pizza…or in this case, when the Rockies aren’t hitting. Still, when you think about Cook and how he’s spent his entire career in Denver, being fourth on this list is quite an accomplishment.

5. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies (0.7385)—A perfect game only added to Halladay’s Hall of Fame resume.

6. Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs (0.7445)—He’s always angry but always has nasty stuff, and, like Cook, he pitches in a hitter-friendly park.

7. Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees (0.7671)—Lucky for the Yankees, Pettitte’s career high of 27 home runs allowed was when he was with the Astros in 2006.

8. Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros (0.7729)—He has an impeccable nose for the strike zone, but puts enough on his pitches to keep hitters guessing and in the park.

9. Jake Westbrook, Cleveland Indians (0.7999)—He hasn’t pitched much in the last three years, but when he does, Jake Westbrook is very good at keeping the ball in the yard.

10. AJ Burnett, New York Yankees (0.8213)—As if the Yankees needed another guy like this in their rotation.

Source: Baseball Reference