The latest on free agent righty Roy Oswalt…
- GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said the Phillies don't really have room for Oswalt, MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports. "We have five, six starters, and our resources are about where we want to be right now," he said. "I think he wouldn't mind coming back, but I don't know that's feasible or a real possibility."
- Yesterday Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports wrote that the Reds remain in talks with Oswalt. However, today Jocketty told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, "It's all rumors. I'm sick and tired of it. We've had no serious talks. We've had no contact with the player."
- The Pirates inquired about Oswalt and were willing to jump into the bidding but were rebuffed, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- There's "no traction" in talks between Oswalt and the Red Sox, a big league source tells WEEI's Rob Bradford.
Yeah, kinda hard for a player to be interested in a team that offers you half what you expected to get and never up their offer. Come on, Boston.
Anyone else roll their eyes when they see Oswalt’s name, knowing that each mention will be a non-story?
It’s beginning to look more and more like the Red Sox are going to spring training with just 3 confirmed starters (Lester, Beckett and Buchholz) and hope and prayer that 2 of the 5 (Bard, Aceves, Cook, Padilla or Silva) will take the “bull by the horns” and be their 4th and 5th starters. It’s good to know they have options, not good ones but options nevertheless.
meh it kinda worked for the Yankees last year with Colon and Garcia, could be a diamonds in the rough
In addition to the 5 guys you mentioned I would add Felix Doubront, Andrew Miller and, to a lesser extent, Clayton Mortensen and Junichi Tazawa as possible back-of-the-rotation candidates. Also, a rotation with BOTH Bard and Aceves in it would be untenable given their predicted innings limits and also their value as relievers. Hopefully Bard transitions well in to an effective #4, one of Cook/Padilla/Silva pitches well enough to be a reliable #5, and Aceves returns to his valuable role in the pen. That’s probably the best scenario Sox fans can hope for at this point. We’re not getting Oswalt.
I disagree. While I wouldn’t say it’s likely, I would say there is a very real chance Oswalt ends up signing with Boston.
He turned down Detroit and Pittsburgh, and basically told Toronto and Cleveland not to bother; he has said he would prefer Texas or St Louis and would also be okay with going back to Philly or pitching in Cincinnati, but all of those places have full rotations and (other than Texas) have said they don’t want to add payroll, and (again other than possibly Texas) have backed off or were never really interested to begin with and have said they wont likely sign him. Boston is reportedly the only team with an offer currently on the table, and the only team that is even rumored to be interested that doesn’t fit into either of those two categories.
His strong desire to be in Texas or St Louis is makes things difficult for Boston, but – unless one of them decides to move a pitcher (either to the ‘pen or in a trade) and add payroll – it’s just not going to happen.
haha me and you have been over this before..I sure hope you’re right man, I just don’t see it happening.
I know, and don’t think that I’m expecting it to happen. I just think there is still a real possibility.
Apparently Ibanez would take a pay cut to play for the Yankees. Maybe Oswalt should follow suit and lower his salary demands. I think a two-year deal is plausible for Oswalt, but at what price? It is surprising that this close to spring reporting date that he is still unsigned.
In all reality, based on what he made last year he will be taking a pay cut anyways, but yeah, he should take lesser to be with a winner or just hang ’em up.
Its looking more and more like teams are moving on because Oswalt is over-valuing his worth and may still be unemployed on Opening Day.
The Red Sox should offer Lars Anderson to Reds for Homer Bailey if the Reds looking to move him to sign Oswalt. Anderson would give the Reds an insurance policy if they can’t resign Votto and Sox don’t have much use for him with Agone locked up long term.
It would take more than Lars alone, but I like where your brain is at.
Lars/cash? For bailey. Dice k comin back in june will be better than he was before. Cant be worse. Resign wake for insurance and put bard back in pen
Soto is probably better than Lars and should be ready late 2012. But, it could happen you never know. Soto looks like he could be moved to the OF at some point possibly.
Good, just retire. We did a good job of setting the market, Everyone knows that we offered 6MM no one will offer more, it’ll just come down to Oswalt WANTING to play, and where.
I wonder if the Detroit offer is still on the table?
I’m wondering the same thing. Why sign with the Twins or Boston or less if the Tigers are willing to pay more.
White Sox should swoop in and get him. He’s friends with Peavy and they could use another starter
I’m getting VERY sick of Oswalt already. Just sign a contract and pitch or shut up. He’s not the best pitcher in the league and teams don’t have to bend over backwards to appeal to him.
Rejection hurts.
This Roy Oswalt has a lot of “CRUST”!
Is he really like this in person? Because PR wise he’s coming off like a “CLOWN”.
Picky, picky, Roy. It’s okay, you can travel more than a hundred miles from home. You’ll make new friends. Here, take your blankie with you till you adjust…
Roy Oswalt how does he get through a locker room door with a head that big?? Get over yourself Roy your not really that damn good.
Given what they were willing to pay for Edwin Jackson (and other subsequent starters), I wonder if the Pirates would be interested in Joe Blanton if the Phillies were willing to eat close to half of his contract.
I know he’s not the same caliber of pitcher, but he’s not a bad guy to have in the rotating at right around $4.5 MM on a one-year deal.
I just get the sense that the Phillies are waiting on the periphery to see if Roy Oswalt’s price drops far enough for them to make a move.
im tired of hearing about roy oswalt already. the guy dont want to play for anyone other then Texas and St.louis.
Texas dont need him and are already crowded with SP’s
St.Louis supposebly dont have the money to sign him
so oswalt call a team and take their offer already before you give your self a heart attack. obviously not everyone wants you. only the desperate teams
Poor pirates. :/
I think he is looking at it from a geographic point of view too. Boston is a lot further from Mississippi and the Rangers and Cardinals don’t have the room or the desire to deal with him at the price he is asking. The Reds have shown they are willing to pull out all the stops this year and go big. Since they look like the only team negotiating seriously, odds are they will find a way to work it out. They may package Bailey in a deal for a second basemen that is big league ready to step in if they can’t sign Phillips beyond this year, until Billy Hamilton is ready to take the reigns. Who knows? Bailey may be dealt to Boston, because he is a younger controllable starter and the Red Sox don’t have the money for a $10 to $12 million pitcher this year.
Hmm, Bailey gets the win & the save in the same game? I like it!
That leaves the Rays, Astros, Royals, Braves, and maybe the Marlins as suitors for Oswalt.
Better yet he should just retire and stop causing these stupid stories.
So the question is who is lying? Either Jocketty or everyone else is.
I’m going with Jocketty. He even said last week that if Oswalt didn’t go to the Rangers the Reds would get back in it. Why would that just be made up? Moral of the story is don’t believe anyone until they have signed the dotted line.
Dude get a grip. Jocketty is the most honest man in baseball. If he says something then it is true, FACT . The Reds are NOT, I repeat NOT trading Homer Bailey. The roster is set, FACT
I agree Topher. It isn’t like everyone else just made all of this up. I still see it happening. Honestly, where else is going to go that he would accept and at the same time would re build his value?
If anybody needs to get a grip, it’s you. Anybody is expandable in the right package. I personally would rather keep Bailey too, so I’m on your side. But, there is a reason Jocketty is the GM and we are not. Walt is not as honest when it comes to the media as you are portraying. If what Walt told the media was always true, we would basically have only signed Ludwick this offseason… Walt doesn’t let the media in, and as you would say…”FACT”
Ludwick signing was terrible. I wish he was lying about that.
This is typical Jocketty. He plays his cards very close to his chest, and downplays everything. He even downplayed Madson the night before Madson was signed.
He also kept the Latos deal pretty quiet and admitted that it had been cooking for two weeks when it finally got done. I think he just said that to keep anyone from getting any ideas about outbidding the Reds because he is getting close to a deal with Oswalt. I remember how that deal for McGwire came out of left field, because it wasn’t even on the radar that St. Louis was involved, until it got done. I think he is aggravated with the press that it got reported like that. It just isn’t his style to discuss things until after the fact. Someone had to be the source for Rosenthal and Fay to get their info and they are rarely wrong about their rumors when they tweet it. Like you said about Madson, Rosenthal and Fay knew they were talking to him and yet Walt denied it, even the night before it happened.
Oswalt hurt his own value not only by being injured last year but by announcing mid-season he would consider retiring after the year. His rejecting of offers this off-season makes me wonder how committed he is to playing in 2012. I wouldn’t offer him anywhere near what he’s demanding. He’s an injury risk and possibly not going to be fully committed.
I completely agree, I was trying to think about it from the Red Sox standpoint…Do you really want to overpay a pitcher who only plays for you because you’re the only team that gave him close to the money he wanted (& he’d rather either be in St. Louis, Texas, or Mississippi) & have him half-@$$ it on the mound every 5th day or would you rather have 5 people fighting for 2 spots out of spring training? I think it’d be better for the team morale to take the latter
It’s kinda hard to believe that Oswalt would go out every fifth day and not give it everything he had. Boston may not be his first choice, but if he ends up there he’ll give it just as much as he would in Texas or St Louis, especially since he’s supposedly trying to prove he’s still worthy of a multi-year deal next year.
I really don’t understand assuming this about any professional baseball player, in any situation; professional athletes in general are too proud to slack like that (with obvious-well known-exceptions, which Oswalt has never been one of).
I agree with that. Oswalt will give full effort to whichever team he pitches with, and I think he still has a decent amount left. If his health holds up, he’s going to help the team that signs him.
Agree. But is choosing to pitch in the AL East the best decision when you’re trying to earn another contract? Tough sledding in that division, as we all know.
The flip side being there’s an opening in the rotation and none of Oswalt’s other choices have that. And it is the Red Sox with, presumably, a shot at winning it all.
If he’s serious about retiring after this year, then focusing on a winning team makes sense. Might as well make a run at a championship.
If he goes to the AL East and does well, he increases his value next offseason over what it would be if he went to Texas and pitched against Seattle’s and Oakland’s offenses.
It’s greater risk for him, but the reward is also likely greater if he succeeds in the hitter’s parks in the AL East. Plus, he wouldn’t have to pitch against Boston’s offense, not as worried about TB or Baltimore. There is not much better visibility than pitching well in a Sox-Yankees game given how much attention the rivalry gets for national media & tv coverage.
Poor pirates man….with oswalt or jackson they would be better and they were ok till a collapse last year..someone should sign with them and take charge i feel bad seeing everyone say “woah pitt?…f tht ”
I know man. they don’t even give a crap about the ballpark.
Though Oswalt probably thinks he only has 2-3 years left so he wants to win his world series.
Jackson, on the other hand, was just…evil.
I really don’t see where the Reds desperately NEED Oswalt unless it’s an upgrade over Arroyo. But, in order for that to happen, the Reds would have to pay up a ton of salary upfront with his deferred money. I also think Bailey’s trade value is low right now if you look at the secondary stats and given he should pitch better in ’12, so I would be against a trade including him. Roy doesn’t seem to fit any better with the Reds than any of the other teams mentioned. How about as a 5th starter with say the Angels? Seems like a decent enough fit.
Why wouldn’t Oswalt consider Atlanta? Not that they have any more need for him than the Cards or Rangers (less, in fact), but you’d still figure they’d be on his list of teams.
Why not place Westbrook, who struggled last year, in the BP and move Oswalt to the fourth or fifth spot? Then you improved your BP and have insurance in case one of the starters goes to the DL during the year. Offer an incentives based deal paying Roy based upon reaching the post-season. If the Cards make the post-season and win the WS in 2012 pay 10MM, if not let’s say 6MM. There would be plenty of room to wiggle in between.
For crying out loud, finish shopping Blanton and pick Oswalt back up, RAJ.
Oswalt has always had this elitist attitude about him that I’ve never been a big fan of. He was one of the better pitchers in the NL at one point in his career, but that was a long time ago. That’d be like Jake Peavy being on the FA market and being picky about a team. Just sign with someone, you aren’t an ace. You’re a #3 on a good team. He’d still be a #3 on the Mets if Santana was healthy, how sad is that?
Has any 35yo pitcher on the downside of his career ever gotten this much media coverage ever?
Everybody stop hating on Roy Oswalt. He is a classy guy and a great locker room guy. And the Cards can sign him and put Westbrook in the Bullpen. Wherever he signs he will do good.
red sox need him i say one yr 8 mil
If Detroit was to approach him again, now “after” signing Fielder, I wonder if he’d still say no? Tigers are already the team to beat in the AL Central.. adding Oswalt would almost hand them the AL Central and a good shot at the 2012 AL Championship.
Seems kinda strange for Oswalt to operate this way. The Reds, Red Sox and Phillies are all targets of his, and they either lowball him badly or don’t have room for him. Cardinals? bullpen. Rangers? no room. But then he gets serious interest from the Orioles, Pirates and Blue Jays and turns them down flat. Roy, are you seriously interested in pitching in 2012? Because it’s starting to seem like you might not be.
where’s OIL Can when you need him ????