The rumblings from this morning had the Texas Rangers in the lead for Roy Oswalt's services, and considering his desire to play for a contender that was close to his Mississippi home, it made sense. Now the Dallas Morning News is reporting that Oswalt has signed with the Rangers:
The Texas Rangers have signed free-agent right-hander Roy Oswalt, according to an individual familiar with the process.
As a guy who knows how telephones and computers operate, I'm also familiar with the process, but the Morning News probably means someone who actually knows what's going on in Ranger Land. The move made sense when it was rumored last week, and it still makes sense.
The Rangers briefly courted Oswalt last winter before committing to moving Neftali Feliz into the rotation. Now that Feliz is hampered by elbow problems, though, the Rangers became interested again, and they beat out several teams for Oswalt's services, including the Dodgers, Red Sox, Tigers, and Orioles.
Oswalt will likely need a few minor-league tuneups before returning to the majors, and the word earlier was that it would take him about a month to get ready.