The Texas Rangers can finally stop worrying about Prince Fielder and the possibility of him landing in Texas. Fielder signed a huge nine-year contract with the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday and is now officially off of the Rangers’ radar. While Fielder is out, the Rangers do have a few options left before they set out for Surprise, AZ, next month. While it seems like starting pitching is the least needed area for the Rangers, signing Roy Oswalt could provide some interesting options for the Rangers moving forward.
First of all the Rangers currently have a starting rotation that includes Yu Darvish, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison, Colby Lewis, Alexi Ogando and Neftali Feliz. At this point the most likely option is for Ogando to return to the bullpen, but if the Rangers were to sign Oswalt, another move would be needed.
The first benefit to Oswalt would be the simple fact of having Oswalt on the Rangers’ staff. Oswalt has aged and he dealt with injuries throughout the 2011 season, but there is still a huge upside to having him in the Rangers’ rotation. He has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the National League over the past decade and averaged 15 wins per season from 2001-2010, while finishing in the top five in Cy Young voting five times. Last year he was 9-10 and only threw 139 innings, but still had a 3.69 ERA during the worst year of his career. Oswalt is no longer in his prime, but is still only 34 years old and if he is healthy should be able to once again be the consistent force he was during the previous decade.
Oswalt would also provide some needed experience to a young staff. Colby Lewis is the one veteran on the staff and while he can eat up innings, he is still not the stable force that Oswalt could be. Harrison and Holland both showed significant growth during 2011, but Darvish will be making the jump to the major leagues and Feliz will be in the rotation for the first time since being called up in 2009. Oswalt could provide leadership to a young staff and take a bit of the pressure off at the same time.
The Rangers also have the added element of needing to put Martin Perez in the rotation at some point. Most likely that will come during the 2013 season, although it could come as soon as this season depending on the circumstances. It would seem that adding Oswalt would complicate that matter, but it could actually help the situation. The Rangers still have needs in the outfield and in the bullpen, not to mention that stockpiling prospects is an excellent idea with the new CBA. If the Rangers signed Oswalt, they could then trade off one of the current starters. The most likely options would be Lewis, Harrison or Ogando. Most likely it would be Harrison or Ogando, since they would receive the most in return.
For example, the Rangers could deal Harrison to open up a slot in the rotation and move Ogando to the bullpen to free up another slot. My personal choice would not be to trade Harrison, but I believe he could land a large package in return. Trading Harrison would leave the Rangers with a rotation of Darvish, Oswalt, Holland, Lewis and Feliz. Not a bad rotation for this year and they would still have Ogando if he needed to return to the rotation and Perez available at Round Rock. However, the situation would also work for 2013 and beyond.
Most likely Oswalt will be signing a one-year deal as he hopes to build value in 2012 and then would go out on the market again at the end of the season. That would mean that Oswalt and Lewis were free agents. That would provide the Rangers with the perfect opportunity to move Perez into the rotation and then depending on multiple factors the Rangers could determine if it was worth re-signing Lewis or Oswalt. That would mean that the rotation for 2013 would be Darvish, Holland, Feliz and Perez. The fifth starter would be Oswalt, Lewis, Ogando, Scott Feldman or other possibilities that could arise over the next year.
It does seem crazy for the Rangers to add more starting pitching, but adding a veteran with the capability of Roy Oswalt does have many benefits. The Rangers do not have to go add Oswalt, but you can never have enough pitching and the doors it would open are worth considering.
John Bowman is a lifelong baseball and Texas Rangers fan that loves to ponder the deeper aspects of the game. Some of his first baseball memories involve Arlington Stadium nachos, Charlie Hough’s knuckeball, dirt on Pete Incaviglia’s uniform and the voices of Mark Holtz and Eric Nadel as he fell asleep. Follow him on Twitter @TexasWinColumn