Roy Oswalt and the Rangers

This post is quite a bit shorter than our normal fare here. We’re going to experiment with some quicker news analysis pieces for things that are still churning through the rumor mill. Don’t worry, these pieces won’t take the place of the more in-depth articles you’ve come to expect from the site.

A few weeks ago, I talked about how Roy Oswalt could end up as the steal of the off-season, and noted that he could instantly improve the rotation of nearly every team in baseball.

In fact, there might only be one team where Oswalt wouldn’t represent an upgrade over someone currently penciled into their starting five – that team is the one that Oswalt is meeting with today, and is apparently one of the two teams he wants to play for in 2012.

No team in baseball needs a starting pitcher less than the Texas Rangers. Their starting pitchers combined for +19.8 WAR last year, third most in the Majors, and while they lost C.J. Wilson, they spent roughly $110 million to bring in Yu Darvish and have decided to bring Neftali Feliz to camp as a starting pitcher. Toss in Derek Holland, Colby Lewis, and Matt Harrison, and their rotation doesn’t even have room for Alexi Ogando, who himself probably belongs in a Major League rotation next year.

Oswalt’s a good bet to be a solid starter next year, but the Rangers already have six solid starters at the big league level. If, as rumored, they’d have to either move Harrison to the bullpen or make him available in trade, they should simply say thanks but no thanks. Oswalt makes sense for St. Louis, who have replaceable pitchers at the back-end of their rotation. Texas, though, simply doesn’t need him.





Dave is the Managing Editor of FanGraphs.

47 Comments
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Pat
12 years ago

I like the new format – short and sweet!

Adrock
12 years ago
Reply to  Dave Cameron

I like the concept. You might want to consider flagging these shorter posts as “Quick Hits” or something along those lines so people know what to expect.

Yirmiyahu
12 years ago
Reply to  Dave Cameron

I like the idea, Dave. Not every rumor is worthy of in-depth analysis, but you don’t want to completely ignore stuff either.

Eminor3rd
12 years ago
Reply to  Dave Cameron

Quick suggestion:

I like the idea of quicker news stuff, but I would like a way to separate the deeper analysis form the news. Might you have a separate list of topics? I know the homepage is getting a bit cluttered as is, but I’d gladly deal with a bit more (or a redesign?) to be able to distinguish in this case.

Jesse
12 years ago
Reply to  Dave Cameron

Bigger than a tweet, shorter than a coffee break.

B.S.
12 years ago
Reply to  Pat

Pitching Wins…..nough said

Simmons
12 years ago
Reply to  B.S.

Wow, pitching wins aren’t informative on their own? No way!!

Brian Kenny
12 years ago
Reply to  Pat

Here’s some feedback – try not to look so goddamn lumpy on camera.

Matt Vasgersian
12 years ago
Reply to  Brian Kenny

LOL

I’ve seen a woman naked. Your move, Cameron.