Worley Up, Oswalt Holding Up Deal?

-In case you hadn’t heard, the Phillies sent down Andrew Carpenter after he made his 2010 debut last night against St. Louis. Worley, 22, was 9-4 with a 3.20 ERA in 19 starts for Reading this season. He has pitched 17.0 consecutive scoreless innings over his last two outings, which included his first professional shutout, a three-hitter on July 9 against Harrisburg.  Worley was named the Phillies’ Minor League Pitcher of the Week today.

Randy Miller of the Bucks County Courier Times tweeted that Worley could start this weekend if a deal is not made for another starter.

-Which brings us to this bit of news coming from Jayson Stark of ESPN. Stark says that Roy Oswalt could be holding up this possible deal.  He reportedly wants his 2012 option picked up now before accepting any trade. Stark says the Phillies are balking at that.

Stark also says that this could “blow up” a potential deal between the Astros and Phillies.

-In addition, Stark writes:

Meanwhile, the Phillies were still talking to several teams about outfielder Jayson Werth. But according to an official of one club they spoke with, they’ve made it clear “they’re not going to trade Werth unless they get exactly what they want. They won’t do it just to get rid of him.”

The Rays still appear to be the front-runners to acquire Werth, if he gets dealt. But one source who spoke with them reports the Phillies asked for pitcher Wade Davis or outfielder B.J. Upton, among others. And it’s difficult to foresee Tampa Bay trading either player just to rent Werth for two months, unless the deal was expanded to send other young, controllable players back to Tampa Bay.

The Red Sox, Yankees and Giants are also believed to have interest in Werth. But there were no signs the Phillies had made much progress in their talks with any of those clubs.

According to an official of one club that spoke with the Phillies, they aren’t willing to pay any of the approximately $3.5 million remaining on Werth’s contract. In fact, one of the Phillies’ main motivations in trading Werth, the official said, appears to be “to get rid of all his money.”