To trade or not to trade - and who to trade

I recieved an email from a friend of mine today titled "make it happen! Roy Oswalt would OK deal to come to the Mets" In it he included a link to a story in the NY Post that said that a player who is friendly with Oswalt said that he would come to the Mets. OK - lets say thats true. Lets say he changed his mind about the Mets because theyre playing great baseball. Here are the questions you need to ask yourself.
1) Do we want him?
2) Do we need him?
3) Who would would we have to give up fro him?/ Who are we willing to give up fro him?
4) How much are we willing to pay him?

Lets break this down one point at a time.
1) Do we want him? - Yes. Of course we do. Hes a great pitcher who is an ace on most teams. A top 3 of Santana Pelfry and Oswalt would be pretty tough for any team to beat in a short series.
2) Do we need him? Well - I guess so. But right now theyre playing so well its hard to see it. As Jerry Manual said - 9 - 2 (combined record of Dickey and Takahashi) is tough to beat. Although you would assume that Tak is going back to the bullpen when Maine comes back. Either way I disagree with Jerrys statement (and i assume he doesnt really believe it either). So i guess the real question is: Do we need him to make the playoffs? I dont know. I would like to think that they can make the playoffs with the team as it is currently constructed or by adding a guy like Jake Westbrook.
3) Who would would we have to give up fro him?/ Who are we willing to give up for him?
Heres the interesting part. It seems like to get Oswalt the Mets wouldnt have to give up as much as you would think because the Astros are looking to dump all 30 Million dollars owed to him through 2011.
But its interesting to think of the hypothetical. I would definitely trade Fernando Martinez to get him. Im pretty much done with him. The guy cant stay on the field. And heres the shocker. I think i would give up Carlos Beltran to get Oswalt! There are some who think Beltran may never play again in a Mets uniform anyway. Clearly hes upset/Boras is upset and wants make sure Beltran is well rested for next year when hes playing for another contract. There are no guarantees with him. Hes still not cleared for baseball activity. Hes not playing in rehab games and his contract is up at the end of next year. Ill give that up to get Oswalt and take my chances with Frenchy and Angel thank you very much!
4) How much are we willing to pay? Well - that i cant answer. But i would imagine that the Mets would loosen the purse-strings to get Oswalt (at least i hope they would)

As for Cliff Lee - it seems as if the Ms want Jon Niese and Omar isnt bugging. Good for him! Lee is a free agent at the end of the year and the Mets risk losing him then.

It should be interesting to see who the Mets pursue. I still believe that the Mets will end up with a Jake Westbrook type of pitcher and not give up a whole lot in terms of prospects and take their chances with the current team. I dont know if its the best move but its the move i feel like they will make.

Either way it should be a fun summer!
Lets Go Mets!!