Rangers Emerging As Roy Oswalt Front Runners?

Just when the Red Sox starting rotation was on the verge of having too many options, Daisuke Matsuzaka is unlikely to return for an extended period of time, Daniel Bard is doing his best to give management every reason to put him back in the bullpen and then Clay Buchholz throws a stink bomb on the mound in Baltimore.  Suddenly the need for one Roy Oswalt is again becoming apparent for Boston but the Red Sox could be viewed as a long shot to land the veteran.

According to T.R Sullivan of MLB.com, the Rangers will consider signing Oswalt after starter Neftali Feliz went down with an elbow injury.  Sullivan states that the Rangers watched Oswalt throw last Friday and while one report from Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram said they were just doing their dilligence by watching him workout, it now appears to be full out interest.

The Rangers are currently loaded with pitching talent and will likely move Scott Feldman to the rotation to replace Feliz at least for the time being.  Oswalt would need roughly 30 days to get into game day shape, making his availability around the end of June.  At that point the Rangers may have a spot in the rotation for the former Astros ace, a sticking point up to this point that was preventing Texas from inking him this winter.

Suddenly the Red Sox may be on the outside looking in when it comes to Oswalt’s services.  The Rangers currently boast two critical elements when rendering a bid for Oswalt.  The first being that Texas is much closer to his Mississippi home than Boston is and the second being that the Rangers are a legitimate World Series contender, if they aren’t the favorites at this point.  While Boston has again battled back to the .500 plateau, it’s safe to say they have a lot to prove before being considered a contestant in the October dance.

Given those two reasons it’s hard to fathom that Oswalt would choose Boston over Texas, should the Rangers present him with a formal offer.

But if baseball has taught us anything it’s that anything can happen and maybe Oswalt donning a Red Sox uniform is still in the cards.  The Sox have proved again that you can never have to much pitching and adding Roy Oswalt could help solidify a shaky rotation.

Will Texas ink Oswalt?  We will have to wait and see and as always, we’ll keep you updated here at BSI.