Roy Oswalt Rumors: Red Sox, Cardinals Reaching Out to Oswalt

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports is reporting that teams are once again reaching out to veteran free agent Roy Oswalt.  Rosenthal named the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals as two of the clubs that are currently interested in Oswalt.  Injuries and ineffective starts to the season are driving their current interest, but it’s still unknown when Oswalt plans on returning to the majors.

The Red Sox need for a pitcher with Oswalt’s track record is evident, as their staff currently holds the worst ERA (6.68) in the majors.  Boston was tied to Oswalt this offseason but a deal was never completed.  It’s recently been reported that the Red Sox were talked out of signing Oswalt this offseason.

The Cardinals are another team that was linked to Oswalt for much of the offseason.  St. Louis offers Oswalt a stadium that’s close to his Mississippi home and it appeared that a deal would ultimately get done.  However, even after Chris Carpenter’s injury, the Cardinals said they were satisfied with shifting Lance Lynn to their starting rotation.

Lynn has not disappointed, starting the year off with three wins and an ERA and WHIP of 1.42 and 0.737.  Still, Rosenthal said St. Louis’s interest in Oswalt could grow depending on Carpenter’s injury status and if they’d rather move Lynn back to their bullpen.

Rosenthal added that, according to a source, Oswalt is throwing bullpen sessions every other day.  Rosenthal reported earlier this month that Oswalt would require 60 days to get ready to pitch at the major league level.  Based on the timing of this report, it appears that Oswalt will be ready to contribute near the beginning of June.

For more on the Cardinals and Red Sox, be sure to check out Redbird Rants and BoSox Injection.

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