Roy Oswalt Rumors: Red Sox Still Considering Oswalt
Nick Carfado of the Boston Globe reported yesterday that, while the Boston Red Sox are still willing to give the Daniel Bard, starting pitcher experiment a try, the jury remains out. If Boston finds that Bard isn’t cut out for the rotation or is needed for their bullpen, Carfado believes the Red Sox could “put on a full-court press” for free agent starting pitcher Roy Oswalt.
The Red Sox have been linked to Oswalt since the right-hander declared he’d be willing to ink a one-year contract for the 2012 season. Boston has had question marks surrounding the back-end of their starting rotation all offseason, but a deal was never reached with Oswalt. It doesn’t appear that this was caused by a lack of interest by the Red Sox, but instead a preference of Oswalt to pitch closer to his Mississippi home.
But, if these question marks remain hovering around the Red Sox as the regular season approaches, Carfado said Boston could look to aggressively pursue Oswalt.
At this point, Bard has two things going against him. He will first and foremost have to prove he has what it takes to be a starting pitcher in the majors. Even if he accomplishes this, which is no small feat in of itself, Boston will have to believe their bullpen is strong enough to withstand the loss of Bard. Carfado mentioned Andrew Bailey’s lingering injury issues, which could result in the Red Sox moving Bard back into a late-inning role.
If, one way or another, Bard does not make the Red Sox Opening Day rotation, Boston could once again turn its attention to Oswalt. There’s no sign that the 34-year-old has changed his stance on pitching in Boston, but if the Red Sox up their offer, maybe that will be enough to sway the veteran starter.
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