The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the epicenter of MLB rumors lately. Now, we can add another notch on their belt with rumblings about Roy Oswalt joining the club. With Chad Billingsley hitting the DL, the Dodgers are in need of another starting pitcher to stay close to the division leading San Francisco Giants, and God knows how bad Oswalt wants out of Texas.
After Oswalt failed miserably as a starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers, they demoted him to the bullpen. A move that ticked off Oswalt so much that he refused to pitch on some occasions. Oswalt’s failures with the Rangers is a mixed bag of the normal aging process and bad luck. His peripherals are actually very good. He has a fantasic 4.70 K:BB, a fair 4.07 FIP, and a fantastic 3.49 xFIP. But thanks to Oswalt’s absurdly high BABIP (.382), low LOB % (64.5), and his HR/9 doubling his career average, Oswalt is sporting a 5.94 ERA.
A move back to the National League could only help Oswalt; especially pitching in Dodger Stadium, a notorious pitcher’s park. It’s clear the Dodgers aren’t shy about making a move and Oswalt seems to fit a need the Dodgers have to fill now. Clearly, Magic Johnson and the rest of the Dodgers’ organization could give a hoot about money, so that wouldn’t be a roadblock to LA.
It should be noted that Oswalt was very close to signing with the Dodgers originally, but the lack of financial stability probably kept the Dodgers from offering Oswalt a fair contract.
Well, that financial instability is gone now with Magic Johnson running things. I would bet on Roy Oswalt being in Dodger blue before the August 31st deadline.
Bryan is a featured writer for Rant Sports. Although he concentrates mostly on the game of baseball, you can find him covering things all over the Rant Sports Network.
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