With Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay, not to mention the bullpen, really struggling out of the gate this season you would expect a good general manager to always be keeping an eye on potential options for down the road this season. Could former Phillies pitcher Roy Oswalt be a name worth keeping an eye on? If the Phillies happen to give him a call, he might be open to at least listening to what the team has to offer.
Just a update , I haven't felt this good since 2010 ,
— Roy Oswalt's Website (@royoswalt44net) April 9, 2013
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I would love to come back to Philly , loved my time there , amazing fans
— Roy Oswalt's Website (@royoswalt44net) April 9, 2013
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Oswalt apparently ended a nearly nearly 250 day Twitter drought Monday night to say he feels as good as he has in a few years and would love to come back to play for the Phillies. If you are skeptical about the validity of the tweets, you are not alone. The clumsy punctuation and the timing of the tweets is somewhat suspicious even for a verified Twitter account. Oswalt had not tweeted anything since last August and prior to last night just about all of Oswalt's tweets were press releases and links to stories about his latest pitching performance with the Texas Rangers. Personal tweets never seemed like it would be Oswalt's style, and to see the tweets pop up conveniently as Halladay was struggling for the second time this season leave some wondering just how honest these tweets may or may not be.
Oswalt was traded to the Phillies in 2010 from the Houston Astros, in exchange for J.A. Happ and prospects Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar. He was 7-1 after joining the Phillies that season, helping to lead the team to the NLCS. Oswalt had a down year in 2011, going 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA while battling with some back issues all year. The Phillies granted Oswalt free agency at the end of the 2011 season and he later signed with the Texas Rangers after the 2012 season started. Oswalt pitched just 59 innings for the Rangers, going 4-3 with a 5.80 ERA.
MLB Trade Rumors reported last month Oswalt is indeed working out at Mississippi State and hopes to be able to pitch for a contender this season. Starting is prefered, but late-inning relief is also an idea Oswalt is open to. Geography also will not be as much of a factor for Oswalt either, so if the Phillies happen to turn things around, this idea starts to gain some traction. Cliff Lee came back to Philadelphia. Would Oswalt?
Oswalt is now 35 years old and would probably be a relatively cheap addition if the Phillies wanted to entertain the possibility, if in fact Oswalt really is interested in pitching in Philadelphia. Would you want the Phillies to explore this possibility, reuniting the so-called four aces of Oswalt, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay?
Personally I am not at the desperation point where a call to Oswalt is high on my priority list. Oswalt struggled in his final year with the Phillies and that continued with the Rangers to a frustrating point for Rangers fans. If the Phillies added him cheaply in similar fashion to the Pedro Martinez signing, I might be willing to consider it but I still want to see a little bit more of this current team before making any sort of move like this.
Signing Oswalt makes this aging team older at a time when they need to get younger.
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