Cardinals may pass on Oswalt

According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals may not have the necessary pieces to acquire Astros' starting pitcher Roy Oswalt as the Trade Deadline begins to linger.

Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told Strauss that a Cardinals trade is "certainly not imminent at this time".

"At this point, it's entirely possible that there may not be a deal out there" for pitching, Mozeliak said. "We're continuing to explore avenues, but as we speak I can't say I'm encouraged."

The Cardinals were originally the front runners of the Oswalt hunt, and Oswalt's first choice.  However it appears as the the Cardinals do not have enough to bring the 32 year old pitcher to an alreadyimpressive starting rotation that includes Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, and Jaime Garcia .

Oswalt's 16 million dollar option for 2012 has also been a cause for concern, however as of recent times, Oswalt has stated that the future of his option will not get in the way of a trade possibility.

With Kyle Lohse rehabbing and Brad Penny's season likely done, the Cardinals could still go after a pitcher.  A more affortable option like a Jake Westbrook or Brett Myers could fill the Cardinals need for a starter.

The Phillies remain the only possible destination for Oswalt at this point, but what we saw yesterday with the Dan Haren trade, anything can happen.