Philadelphia Phillies’ Roy Oswalt not on New York Yankees’ radar – MLB Update
After failing to qualify for the American League Championship Series in 2011, the New York Yankees have made it a point to bolster their starting rotation for 2012 and needless to say, financing is not an issue for them.
The Yankees will test the free market waters once the deadline for exclusive negotiations between teams and players ends at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, November 3, with an exclusive focus on starters. There are a few big names that will be testing free agency
in the offseason and general manager Brian Cashman has signalled that the management will go for the best.
Names such as C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt are up for the taking in the market and neither of them are an option one can decline. However, the Yankees, articulating their approach, stressed that they are not interested in signing Philadelphia Phillies’ Oswalt,
whose option was declined by his team after he failed to perform in the postseason and had a 9-10 win-loss record in the regular season.
Nevertheless, the Yankees have a more concrete reason than just his statistics to advocate their choice. Cashman asserted that the team wants to develop a solid rotation and will not want to risk a player who is known for his back problems. Oswalt is tackling
with a back problem since his days with the Houston Astros, but has never undergone a surgery. However, he has had a lot of cortisone shots, which make him more susceptible to injury.
Oswalt has 159 career wins to his credit at a 3.21 ERA and has lost only 93 games in over 11 years at Major League Baseball. Despite an exemplary record, Cashman believes that the Yankees have no room to cater injured players and thus refrained from making
any further comments on the player.
"I have no comment about any particular player we might be interested in," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "I said (Tuesday) that we will be focusing on pitching, and mainly starting pitching."
The Yankees have already signed CC Sabathia for a hefty amount and need a pitcher to assist him effectively. It will be interesting to see how things unfold when the market opens.
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