Today is Tuesday, February 7. Edwin Jackson signed a contract last week. Prince Fielder signed a contract not long before that. People thought those free-agent sweepstakes took forever. Roy Oswalt is still out there. Roy Oswalt is still a free agent. Meanwhile, team trucks are already shipping equipment to spring training.
Roy Oswalt Reportedly Says No To Pirates, Maybe To Reds
And Roy Oswalt is having trouble finding a home. Oswalt has expressed a specific interest in signing with the Rangers or the Cardinals. The Rangers have a full starting rotation. The Cardinals have a full starting rotation. The Rangers appear to be out. The Cardinals appear to be out.
There are, of course, teams interested in signing Roy Oswalt. He's Roy Oswalt. The Red Sox have shown a lot of interest. Rob Bradford, however, says there's "no traction" there. And the Pirates have shown interest. Rob Biertempfel, however, says they were "rebuffed."
So the teams with whom Oswalt would like to sign apparently can’t sign him. He’s not real wild about the teams that can sign him. Oswalt’s talked about retirement before - might he just hang them up, satisfied with a long and lucrative career? Might that be better than playing somewhere he doesn’t want to play?
Hold on. Enter the Reds. From Ken Rosenthal:
The Reds remain in talks with Oswalt, according to major league sources.
[...]
The team would need to clear payroll to sign Oswalt, who is believed to be seeking $8 million to $10 million on a one-year deal. Right-hander Homer Bailey, earning $2.425 million in 2012, would be the most likely candidate to be moved, sources say.
The Reds are new to the sweepstakes, and give Oswalt another option. But, wait, hold on again. From John Fay:
Update at 1:23: I just talked to Walt Jocketty. He insists that the Reds have had no recent talks to with Oswalt.
“It’s all rumors,” he said. “I’m sick and tired of it. We’ve had no serious talks. We’ve had no contact with the player.”
That’s it. I officially have absolutely no idea what Roy Oswalt is going to do. Whatever he does decide to do, though, he’ll probably have to decide to do soon.
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