Jerry Crasnick says that the favorites for Roy Oswalt this offseason are the Texas Rangers and the Washington Nationals. But he also listed two surprise names who should be in on the bidding for one of the best starting pitchers on the free agent market: the Kansas City Royals and Colorado Rockies.
The Royals could certainly use Oswalt to anchor a rotation that needs as many arms as they can sign or trade for. Jonathan Sanchez is the newest member of the rotation and other holdovers like Danny Duffy or Luke Hochevar hope to aid more than harm next season. Yet the Royals are still lacking an anchor in the rotation, a guy who can take the ball every five days and deliver with certainty amid all of the youth and inconsistency present on the roster.
Oswalt could be that guy. He's 34-years-old so he's past his prime, but there's no reason that the righty doesn't have plenty left in the tank. If there is a problem with Oswalt, it could be health concerns since he only threw 139 innings last season.Yet when he's in, he's still more effective than most pitchers in baseball. Last season, Oswalt made 23 starts and went 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA. Just last season, he had a 1.74 ERA in 32 starts.
On a three year deal, Oswalt would make a lot of sense for a KC rotation that will continue to get better each season. It's unclear whether Oswalt would be interested in a project like KC versus an instant contender like Texas, but it's worth a shot if he will listen.