RANGERS sign Oswalt

[Ty Cobb]

Free agent pitcher Roy Oswalt has signed with the Texas Rangers, sources told ESPN's Karl Ravech on Tuesday.

The sources said that if Oswalt is called up by July 1, he gets $8 million pro-rated -- 4 million in his pocket. He can also earn an extra $1 million in incentives if he makes 10 starts.


A source told ESPNDallas.com's Richard Durrett that Oswalt could be ready to join the Rangers rotation by June 20.


The deal was first reported by The Dallas Morning News.


The St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers all were interested in Oswalt and made various offers, some exceeding that of the Rangers, sources told Ravech. Oswalt had given teams indications that Texas was his destination of choice. He has a close relationship with club president Nolan Ryan, and he apparently likes the thought of pitching for a contending team that's close to his Mississippi home.



Oswalt, 34, has a career record of 159-93 in 11 seasons with Houston and Philadelphia. He is a three-time All-Star who has finished among the top five in National League Cy Young Award balloting five times in his career.


After waiting until spring training and failing to land a job to his satisfaction, Oswalt told major league clubs in late February that he planned to wait until midseason to return.


Oswalt threw for the Rangers in Mississippi on May 18 and that same night, Neftali Feliz had command problems and walked five Houston Astros and wasn't able to throw a full five innings. It was discovered shortly thereafter that he had a sprained ligament in his right elbow. He isn't likely to return to the rotation before the All-Star break.


Oswalt will need a few starts in the minors to pitch to hitters and build arm strength before joining the rotation. Scott Feldman, who won 17 games as a starter in 2009 for Texas, is currently holding down Feliz's spot and will likely continue to do so until Oswalt is ready.


Some Rangers players saw the news on Twitter prior to stretching for batting practice and were talking about it.


"Hopefully he can get back to the form that he was previously before the back issues," setup man Mike Adams said. "If he can, he'll help us out a great deal."

[JWB]

Love It!...

[PhatMack19]

Great signing for Texas

[westend1]

Wow!  Had no idea that Roy was unsigned.

[utguy09]

Good to see Roy back in Texas!