Rangers sign Roy Oswalt

[Guest]

The surprising Orioles have emerged as a fourth team with interest in free-agent pitcher Roy Oswalt, sources tell CBSSports.com.

The Orioles are joined in the mix by what could be a final four that includes the Red Sox, Phillies and Rangers. It isn't known if any additional teams are involved.

Oswalt, the former Astros and Phillies star, is said to want to be on a big-league mound by about June 15, meaning he's expected to select a team soon.

The Orioles said recently they'd like to bolster their pitching staff, and this certainly would be one way to do it. He was 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA for the Phillies last year.

Oswalt preferred the Rangers and Cardinals this winter when he turned down offers from at least the Red Sox and Tigers. Oswalt also is interested in pitchingfor a team with a chance to play in the World Series. The Orioles currently lead the American League East by one game. Phillies star Cliff Lee said Wednesday night he knows Oswalt wants to pitch but hadn't heard where he might go.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/jo...-in-roy-oswalt

:arrieta:

Still think it's going to be however

[Leftwich]

I don't think he ends up going to the Orioles. It just seem like fate is gonna put him on the Red Sox.

[Obst]

He won't want to venture too far from home, he'll be a Ranger.

[Guest]

He won't want to venture too far from home, he'll be a Ranger.

I did hear that that wasn't a factor anymore. However, given the teams interested, the only one I would say is definitely making the playoffs is Texas. Too much is uncertain with the Orioles fast start, and the Red Sox and Phillies are right around .500, and still the last place team in their divisions.

[MVPete]

The guy isn't even remotely ready to pitch anyway. He'll sign somewhere around the all star break.

[Rudi]

I hope he goes to the Orioles, just because fuck the Red Sox and Yankees.

[Guest]

The Los Angeles Dodgers watched pitcher Roy Oswalt throw last week in Starkville, Miss., but team officials are convinced that Oswalt is going to sign with the Texas Rangers -- possibly as early as this week.

Oswalt, who had previously auditioned for the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox and the Rangers, has given teams indications that Texas is his destination of choice. He has a close relationship with club president Nolan Ryan, and he apparently likes the thought of pitching for a contending team that's close to his Mississippi home.

"I would be shocked if he doesn't go to Texas," a baseball official said. "A team is going to have to greatly outbid Texas to keep him from going there."

Oswalt, 34, has a career record of 159-93 in 11 seasons with Houston and Philadelphia. He is a three-time All-Star who has finished among the top five in National League Cy Young Award balloting five times in his career.

After waiting until spring training and failing to land a job to his satisfaction, Oswalt told major league clubs in late February that he planned to wait until midseason to return.

Several contending clubs recently have incurred injuries that could heighten the interest in Oswalt.

Texas lost pitcher Neftali Feliz to the disabled list with a shoulder injury, and the Rangers have filled his spot in the rotation with Scott Feldman. But general manager Jon Daniels recently told reporters that "everything is on the table" when it comes to strengthening the pitching staff, and manager Ron Washington said he would be on board with bringing in Oswalt.

The Phillies are waiting for an update on Roy Halladay, who was to visit a doctor Tuesday to have his sore right shoulder examined.

The Dodgers have a void in their rotation now that Ted Lilly has gone on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. But they expect Lilly to return by late June, and the current plan calls for Nathan Eovaldi to assume his spot in the rotation.

Eovaldi, 2-2 with a 3.09 ERA in nine appearances with Double-A Chattanooga this season, is scheduled to start Tuesday night against Milwaukee.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/79...gers-last-week

[Villain]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/05/dodgers-have-made-offer-to-roy-oswalt.html

Dodgers made an offer to Oswalt. He probably will not accept it.

[Guest]

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Roy Oswalt has officially agreed to terms on a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers.

The deal is pending a physical, which Oswalt will have on Thursday.

The club announced the acquisition of the 34-year-old free agent pitcher during Tuesday night's game with the Seattle Mariners. He is expected to join Triple-A Round Rock this weekend, and general manager Jon Daniels said Oswalt will make his first minor league start on Saturday.

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Sources said the contract for Oswalt assumes that if he's called up by July 1, he'll make $4 million and can make another $1 million in incentives based on the number of starts he makes.

A source said Oswalt could be ready to join the Rangers' rotation by June 20, meaning he'll need at least three weeks in the minors to build up his arm strength and to get used to pitching to live hitters.

"The bottom line is I think we're better today with Roy in the fold," Daniels said. "Ownership stepped out. This wasn't something we contemplated in the budget."

Several teams had interest in Oswalt during the winter and in recent weeks. He had decided to wait until the right situation for him.

Oswalt threw for the Rangers in Mississippi on May 18 and that same night, Neftali Feliz had command problems, walked five Houston Astros and wasn't able to throw a full five innings. It was discovered shortly thereafter that he had a sprained ligament in his right elbow. Feliz isn't likely to return to the rotation before the All-Star break.

The St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers all were interested in Oswalt and made various offers, some exceeding that of the Rangers, sources told ESPN's Karl Ravech. However, Oswalt's relationship with Ryan when both were with the Astros organization, the proximity to Oswalt's home and that the Rangers are in contention helped the club land him.

"Once he gets some innings in, he'll fit in the rotation and pitch us deep into games," Ryan said.

Oswalt had two stints on the disabled list last season because of lower-back inflammation. Daniels said the club is familiar with Oswalt's back issues because his doctor is local and deals with the Rangers. They'll learn even more after the physical, but after seeing a long-toss session and 50 pitches in a bullpen and talking with Oswalt were convinced he's healthy and ready to go.

Daniels said the basic terms of the agreement were settled two days ago, so any interest from other teams in the past few days didn't impact the negotiations. Things weren't finalized until Tuesday.

Scott Feldman, who was on the mound while the Rangers made the announcement, has been taking Feliz's spot the past two turns. He won 17 games as a starter in 2009, but was moved to the bullpen in 2010 and then had knee surgery, missing half of 2011. Feldman likely will hold down the spot until Oswalt is ready.

Oswalt has spent his entire career in the National League, going 159-93 with a 3.21 ERA in 339 games (326 starts) for Houston (2001-10) and Philadelphia (2010-11). He has not pitched for any club since 2011, when he was 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA in 223 starts. He was on the disabled list twice last year with lower-back issues.

"I think he's motivated," Daniels said. "He's in good shape. I think he's got something to prove. The bigger thing is he wants to win. I think Nolan undersold his relationship and how important that was and I think the way our roster is constructed and a chance to win in Texas helped get him here."

Daniels did not want to speculate on what the move may mean for Feliz when he's healthy. He's been shut down for four weeks and will be re-examined at that time before he can even start a throwing program.

"We're focused on getting Neftali healthy," Daniels said. "In reality, you don't know what could happen not just with Neftali, but anyone else. You need a lot of depth and talent to win."

In eight career starts at Rangers Ballpark, Oswalt is 2-5 with a 4.78 ERA. He has lost his last five starts there, but those were against the power-packed Texas lineup that will now be playing behind him.

Oswalt last pitched against the Rangers on June 27, 2010, a night when slugger Josh Hamilton hit a homer several rows into the upper deck in right-center field way above the Texas bullpen. The drive was measured at 490 feet, the longest home run hit at Rangers Ballpark.

Hamilton, talking before the team had confirmed the deal, said Oswalt is a good pitcher that would be a good mix with the Rangers.

"He's been around a long time, he's had a good career and obviously it's still going on," Hamilton said. "I'm sure just like anybody else, he'll come into the clubhouse and fit right in just like anybody else would. We'll make sure he does. It should be exciting."

The deal with Oswalt came on the same day the Phillies and AL West rival Los Angeles Angels put their ace pitchers on the disabled list.

"It was a complete coincidence," said Daniels, adding the Rangers and Oswalt had reached an agreement on basic terms of his deal two days earlier.

The Phillies put two-time Cy Young winner Roy Halladay on the disabled list and he'll be out of the rotation for six to eight weeks because of a strained right shoulder. Angels starter Jered Weaver was put on the DL with a lower-back injury, likely forcing last season's AL Cy Young runner-up to miss at least two starts.

http://espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/story/...-texas-rangers

Not a huge surprise at all, and I think Oswalt will be a good fit for them as well.

[Rudi]

Thank god hes out of the NL finally. Dude owned the Reeds

[Youk]

Shocker!

I'll be honest, I was shocked when I read that he's 34. The way this has been going down, I just assumed he was in his later 30's.