Roy Oswalt Not Interested in Red Sox. Time to Move On.
Maybe it was the low offer or the cool weather that April and May can bring to Boston. Regardless of what it is, Roy Oswalt doesn’t appear to have any interest in signing with the Boston Red Sox.
Despite an offer, albeit a $5 million dollar attempt to sign the righty after he was asking for $8 million, it may be time for the Red Sox to move on and forget about Oswalt. The only hope they have now is if both the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals, the proverbial front runners at this point, can’t sign him and he comes crawling back begging for a place to play.
According to MLB.com’s Peter Gammons, Oswalt has informed the Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays and now the Red Sox that he is not interested in signing with those clubs. Thanks, but no thanks. But a report from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, says the Red Sox have not considered themselves out of the hunt just yet. They just haven’t moved any closer to signing him. Time to move on? I think so.
As mentioned, the Cardinals are the lead horse to sign Oswalt and it appears it will be more than the original asking price of $8 million for one-year. Remember, that was the new, lowered price from the original price tag of $10 million. Reports now indicate that the former NLCS MVP is again asking for $10 million and the Cards are doing everything in their power to give it to him.
Over the weekend we learnt that St. Louis is shopping bullpen arm, Kyle McClellan who makes $2.5 million. The Cards original offer to Oswalt was for $7.5 million. Add the two up and bazinga, $10 million fresh ones for Oswalt.
The Texas Rangers are meeting with Oswalt and are said to be shopping Koji Uehara. But like the Cards, the Rangers currently have a solid and set five-man rotation.
But enough of this gibberish that doesn’t involve the Red Sox. Oswalt doesn’t want to play here, is that a bad thing? To sign a guy who’s heart isn’t in it would be catastrophic for a club that needs to get off to a decent start.
Cool April nights and a wonky back don’t exactly go hand in hand with pitchers. Oswalt says he’s healthy and 100%, but one small tweak during a cool night on the mound could turn ugly for everyone involved.
I have been a big advocate of signing Oswalt, right from the start. But when the guy is waffling on whether or not he wants to play here, then let’s all be honest with ourselves; this isn’t the preferred marriage.
You have to give Ben Cherington credit. He has a budget that he is trying desperately to stick to and while he has said he’s been given the green light to surpass the tax threshold if it makes sense, he’s not out there throwing away money. It would be easy for Red Sox teams of the past to offer Oswalt $10 million, sign him to a one-year deal and see where the chips fall. But holding out and having complete and utter faith in your current rotation along side the low-cost gambles that were picked up in the off season is a gutsy move. If it works, Cherington looks like a second coming of ‘the boy wonder.’ If it doesn’t, well there will be a trade or two available during the season that will make us all forget about the long, cold, slow moving off season that was.
Just over two months until the start of the season. I can’t wait.
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