10:45pm: The Reds continue talking to Oswalt, though he'd prefer to pitch for the Cardinals or Rangers, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report. Cincinnati would have to clear payroll to add Oswalt and Homer Bailey would be the most likely candidate to be dealt.
9:33pm: Cardinals GM John Mozeliak acknowledges he’ll be ‘opportunistic’ about potential deals, but says he’s not expecting significant moves before Spring Training, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Though the Cardinals and Roy Oswalt had mutual interest in a deal, they couldn’t reach an agreement.
Oswalt was asking for a significant guarantee in terms of role and salary, but the Cardinals aren’t looking to add payroll. The Cardinals haven’t spoken to Oswalt’s agent in the past week or so, Goold writes. The Reds appear to be kicking the tires on the right-hander, but the Rangers aren’t likely to sign him.
I said before, all the teams he wants don’t have money, or rotation space. He’ll end up in Boston before the week is over.
I’d be completely unsurprised if he ends up sitting out the first half of the season, the whole season, or simply retiring.
I wouldn’t be too surprised either, but if he would prefer sitting out or retiring over playing in Boston don’t you think he would have turned them down outright like he did the Tigers, Jays, and Indians?
He must think his name is Clemens/Martinez or something?
Who else tried that and it didn’t work out to well.. Paul Byrd.. Only managed a minor league deal and Schill talked about it.
Interesting to see if Oswalt, with a history of back problems would even bother staying in game shape and then be willing to go to the minors for a month or 2 if he tried that maneuver.
Leverage. Boston can pay more than any other team interested.
If it were just about leverage he wouldn’t have told those other teams he wasn’t interested. More teams interested is as good as rich teams interested. Plus, he supposedly turned down $10M from the Tigers, which is more than any of the other teams has offered to this point; a $10M offer from Detroit helps his leverage more than a $5M offer from Boston.
Yeah, but it’s Detroit. Do you want to live in Detroit?
Seriously? This is getting old…Detroit’s suburbs are some of the best places to live in the country.
Come on Brewers sign him!
brewers suck!!! go reds
red sox go get em
Welcome back to Philly little Roy!
Time for this yokel to stop screwing around and make a choice. He has an offer from the Sox. If I’m the Sox, I would have yanked it long ago. Spring training is only a couple weeks away.
Why would Boston pull back their offer? Not really in a position to, are they?
If a team doesn’t offer him at least a guarantee of $8MM plus incentives I’d bet he either retires or holds out until after ST to see what shakes loose. I don’t see anyway he signs with any team for $5 or 6MM.
Wouldn’t shock me if we see Oswalt sign with Boston in a few days.
Red Sox Red Sox Red Sox pleeeeeeeeeeeeease???
Wouldn’t be surprised if he goes cheaper to STL
I would love for him to sign with St. Louis, which in turn sends Kyle Lohse packing.
Kyle Lohse has a full no trade and outpitched Jake Westbrook big time last year (who also has a full no trade).
Lohse isn’t going anywhere. An Oswalt signing would simply mean Westbrook is going to have to OK a deal or go to the bullpen.
oh well, of course nothing’s completely ruled out but I still think going for him next year will have more of an opportunity to get a deal done assuming that he doesn’t get hurt this year or he doesn’t simply go on a decline or anything like that, or he may even be a trade deadline deal if the right situation comes up with one of our starters or something who knows but I believe we’re ready to compete as is and this 2012 will be one heck of an experiment that if all goes as it looks like it should on paper, then we’ll get our 12 in ’12!
I don’t think he wants to come to the AL East for that exact reason, an inevitable decline. He will loose a whole point on his ERA if he comes to the AL or AL East thus loosing him years and dollars for his next contract. Just my opinion though. I would love to see him in a Sox uni, he’d be a great #4/5 starter
I’m talking about the Cardinals.
more like a 2 guy on the red sux
Come on Dave/Ruben… you’re over the luxury tax anyway… just sign him.
Phew…
Oh well. Looks like the Cards are done making any significant moves this offseason.
What are you talking about? They just signed Alex Cora today! haha
fail
That’s kind of what the story just said.
Disappointment…. 🙁 Red Sox or Texas.
I’m not surprised, the Cardinals were in the perfect spot they didn’t need him he needed them. Its obvious he didn’t want to be a Cardinal too bad or he would have taken less. He doesn’t want to go to the east coast and the red sox have said the same thing the cards have said “don’t anticipate any significant moves before ST.
calling the pirates as a darkhorse. they were in on edwin jackson and almost landed him for 10 mil/yr giving him 3 yr and 1 yr offers. i could easily see them turn around and offer oswalt the exact same offers they gave jackson
Why would somebody of Oswalt’s stature seriously consider playing for the Pirates? The guy has done it all and gotten many paydays, now he’s going for the ring. And we all know that’s not going to happen in Pittsburgh…
a one year deal though? let him play and then he gets traded at the deadline to a contender? id do it.
Still believe the Cards are his eventual destination. They have a number of variables at a each spot in the rotation, though their hesitation may be the result of major confidence in Lynn as a starter this season if needed
If he goes back east you would think it would have to be with the Phills but Pittsburgh is very interesting after their pursuit of Jackson as you said
Hey Alderson, go get Bailey if he’s available. Young starters are exactly what we need.
What would you think the Mets would trade for Homer?
That’s similar to what I was thinking, except I’m hoping the Royals step in and grab Homer. Cincy has made it clear that they’re all in this season, so they’ve got to be motivated to clear space for Oswalt. This is a golden opportunity for a team like KC, with a deep farm system, to acquire a still-young SP with lots of upside without shelling out an arm and a leg.
Sorry, but the Reds AREN’T trading Homer Bailey. No way, no how. Just watch. That is why we are NOT signing Oswalt. I would rather Arroyo be the one to be traded, but his contract will make that impossible unless the Reds find a team to take it on. NO Oswalt. Homer will have a better year than Roy, FACT. Plus he is 8 M cheaper.
Disagree 100%, what stats prove this statement? Homer is 25-23 with a 4.89 ERA who has allowed 170 Walks to 330 Strikeouts in the MLB and his Minor League Career Record is 40-28 3.70 ERA. Homer is just as injury prone as Oswalt as well. Homer isn’t this top tier prospect that Cincinnati fans are making him out be anymore. He has been a bust and it’s time to move on. Bring in Oswalt make him your 4th Starter and let’s go.
Wake me up when he makes up his mind
Oswalt’s an NL guy – he’s rightly timid about facing the AL east and all those DHs; he’ll sign in Cincy most likely if one of the rejected teams (my guess is Toronto) works a deal to pick up Homer Bailey. It could turn into another AA steal.
Jays don’t need another M.O.R arm.
Looks like the Reds are a little more interested then they initially lead people to believe. Seems to me to be good fit for them assuming they can work out the money issue. Like the say the “devils in the detail”.
If the Reds traded Bailey to the Mets we better get Murphy in return.
Could actually be a fit.
he signs with Boston. Cherrington throws in a used tractor. And Oswalt announces Red Sox were his first choice all along.
Only if the poor guy can overcome his fear of the dreaded AL.
If he doesn’t want to be here then stop kicking the tires. Let him be on his merry way. The Reds are going to win a lot of games this year and team chemistry is a big part of that. These guys here right now, outside of the new guys, love to play together and love playing for Dusty. Now need to spend to much money on a guy who is clearly on the downside of his career.
My guess is that he ends up going back to Philly or eventually takes less and goes to the Cardinals. I guess it just depends how badly he wants to play in St. Louis. He very well could be testing the Cardinals pocket before finally agreeing.
If he doesn’t want to be a Red then I don’t want him on the Reds….Pound dirt Roy O
They should sign Homer Bailey if he becomes available. Oswald is a possible risk. No one can say if his back will act up again or not. He is not the same pitcher when that injury plagues him. He isn’t worth a 10M dollar gamble. A lesser contract with incentives would make far more sense….Sign Homer, Forget Roy.