After is seemed like the Boston Red Sox were all but out of the Roy Oswalt sweepstakes, there's been a turn in the tide. Looks like we're very much in this thing.
According to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark, the Red Sox are one of two finalists for Roy Oswalt, who could sign with a team sooner rather than later. The other reported finalist is the St. Louis Cardinals, leaving the Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies on the outside. As we've learned throughout this very long and somewhat annoying process, they're are implications for both Oswalt finalists.
"He wanted to go to Texas. That's not gonna happen. He wanted to go back to Philadelphia. That's not gonna happen. He had some interest in the Reds. That doesn't seem like it's going to happen. So his choices still come down to, I think, going to Boston, where they have a clear need but he doesn't seem to want to play, and going to St. Louis, where all his friends say he would love to be. But to do that, he has to do it on their terms." (via ESPN)
Stark seems to state it perfectly, but let's just go over things again. Boston is the most logical fit for Oswalt because they have a clear need for him in the rotation and two, they are offering him a decent chunk of money ($6 million). However, Oswalt doesn't want to pitch in Boston, because he wants to closer to home in Mississippi.
As for the Cardinals, it's just the opposite. On paper, they aren't a good fit at all because they have a crowded pitching rotation and may not be able to offer what the Red Sox are financially. However, Oswalt is drawn to the Cards because they are geographically closer to his home. At age 33, that seems to be Oswalt's driving force behind where he wants to pitch in 2012.
From the outside, it seems that Oswalt wants to pitch for the Cardinals more than he does the Red Sox. Why? It's pure Geography. However, every day Kyle McClellan and Jake Westbrook remain on the Cards' roster, Boston's chances of signing Oswalt can only go up.
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