Roy Oswalt

From FoxSports.com
KC's patience may pay off ... eventually
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/kansas-city-royals-still-a-year-away-from-winning-al-central-analysis-011912
JON PAUL MOROSI is practically saying the Royals are throwing away their only chance to win the AL Central in 2012, if they don't sign Roy Oswalt. For sure, obtaining a healthy Oswalt (or any #1 starting pitcher) would fill the only glairing gap in the Royals roster. The Royals have ignored the temptation to give away key portions of a deep and respected Farm System or overpay Free Agents in order to accomplish a short term gain. Dayton Moore has said many times this offseason that he & his staff are building a team that can be contenders for many years. You don’t do that by trading away key players in your farm system or overpaying veterans who may block your up and coming players. They seem to have the offense, defense & have bolstered an already strong bullpen. Again this year (as last year) their starting pitching appears to be their Achilles Heel.

You don’t have to be an old-school scout in suspenders with a stop watch & a speed-gun, or be living in mama’s basement with a scientific calculator to know that 20012 could fall short of contention for the Royals (even with all their young talented players). And then again a lot can happen between the last week of January and the end of September.

But for what it’s worth, here’s my take on Roy Oswalt. He's damaged goods asking for $10M. The Royals aren't the only team not biting on that... so I wouldn't trash the Royals for NOT signing
him. Besides, waiting to sign him isn't a bad thing, he WAS asking for multi-year deal… now, he’ll take a 1 year deal. With his medical history, nobody's giving him a $10M guaranteed contract...
no matter how many times he’s been an All-Star in the past.

I have a feeling that he'll end up signing a 1 year deal (possibly with a 1 or 2 yr. option), for a base salary of $3-5M & incentives like an All-Star appearance, X# of innings &/or no time on DL that could get him close to his $10M asking price. Of course, if he comes down to these more realistic terms, there may be several teams willing to take a flier on Mr. Oswalt. And maybe it’s telling how far the Royals have come that they aren’t jumping at a chance at catching lighting in a bottle, by overpaying a veteran looking for a chance to keep his career alive.

Who knows, the Royals may already have their true #1 starting pitcher in their system. Luis Mendoza, Felipe Paulino, Jonathan Sanchez, Aaron Crow, Danny Duffy, Mike Montgomery, or even Luke Hochevar could turn into that true #1 guy in the starting rotation.

Of course, a healthy Roy Oswalt would…