While Roy apparently wants the Phillies or whoever trades for him to pick up his 2012 option, I’m not convinced this is a dealbreaker. For one, players do this all the time before a trade. It’s basically posturing, because they have no history with the new club (in most cases).
In Oswalt’s case, he’s only dealt with Houston. If the Phillies guarantee that option, or work out a contract extension with him, he’d have some sort of guarantee about his future. That’s probably all he’s looking for out of this.
Jon Heyman is also reporting that this three-team juggernaut is in the works, with the Phils getting prospects back from the Rays for Werth and flipping them to the Astros for Roy. The most likely guy to be in on that trade? Reid Brignac. The former second-round pick out of St. Amant High School in Louisiana, Brignac would lose out on a regular position with the acquisition of Werth. The Rays would then play Werth in right field, moving former Astros farmhand Ben Zobrist back to second base. With Jason Bartlett at short, Brignac goes to the bench.
The Astros would need more than just Brignac, but the Phillies could include pitcher JA Happ in a deal with a third prospect probably changing hands as well.