Does Roy Oswalt Make Sense For The Washington Nationals?

By Patrick Reddington of FederalBaseball.com

The Philadelphia Phillies declined the 2012 option for 34-year-old right-hander Roy Oswalt, paying him $2M in a buyout rather than the $16 million the former Astros' starter would have earned in the option year on the end of the 5-year/$73 million dollar deal he signed with Houston in 2007. Oswalt finished the 2011 season, (his first full-season in Philadelphia following a July 2010 trade from the Astros to the Phillies in exchange for 21-year-old LHP Anthony Gose, 20-year-old IF/OF Jonathan Villar and 28-year-old LHP J.A. Happ), with a 3.69 ERA, 3.44 FIP (up from 2.76/3.27 in 2010), a career-low 6.02 K/9 (down from 8.21 in 2010, 7.35 K/9 career) and his lowest start and inning totals since 2003.

Though Oswalt's a Type-A Free Agent, the speculation (from MLBTraderumors and Philly.com at least) is that the Phillies won't offer arbitration so he won't cost the team that signs him a pick in the 2012 Draft.

Oswalt took two trips to the DL in his 11th major league season in 2011, dealing with back issues which have scared away some potential suitors. "He reportedly has two degenerative discs in his lower back," ESPN NewYork's Wallace Matthews wrote recently in explaining why sources were saying the Yankees weren't interested, and though he hasn't had surgery, the writer noted that he has had cortisone shots in the past and he spent six weeks on the DL last season, resulting in the low inning and start totals.

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