Roy Oswalt Rumors: Oswalt Prefers Rangers, Cardinals and Braves

Roy Oswalt would prefer to pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves or Texas Rangers, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.  Stark added that money is an “important factor” in Oswalt’s decision.  The Baltimore Orioles have reportedly expressed interest in Oswalt, while the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox have watched the 34-year-old throw recently.

What the Braves, Cardinals and Rangers all have in common is that they are all at or near the top of their divisions and they all play relatively close to Oswalt’s Mississippi home.

Stark said that there is no evidence that the Braves or Cardinals have expressed interest in Oswalt.

St. Louis was tied to Oswalt this winter and into the spring, but following Chris Carpenter’s injury the Cardinals decided against bringing in the right-hander.

Atlanta hasn’t been tied to Oswalt much at all since he hit the free agent market.  While the Braves starting staff has obvious room for improvement, Atlanta has been content having youngsters Randall Delgado and Mike Minor hold down the back end of their rotation.

For this reason, it all looks like it’s getting back to the Rangers.  Stark listed several reasons Oswalt favors signing with Texas; geography, solid run support, no state income tax, Nolan Ryan, and the fact that storylines likely won’t be focused on him with players such as Yu Darvish and Josh Hamilton around.

Money is apparently a large factor in Oswalt’s decision where he’s going to pitch and even if he’s going to pitch at all this season.  At this point it sounds like he wants to be paid like a front-of-the-rotation starter while teams are more interested in handing him third or fourth starter money.

If cash is playing such a large role in Oswalt’s decision making process, this figures to leave the door open for a team such as the Orioles to swoop in an knock the veteran off his feet with a hefty offer.  In the case of Oswalt, Baltimore would only have to surrender money to acquire him, not prospects from their already thin minor league system.

Of course, Oswalt’s other goals are to remain close to his home and join a contending team.  Texas seems to be the fit in Roy’s eyes, but will the Rangers provide Oswalt with the type of offer he’s looking for?