Roy Oswalt Signs With Rangers

According to a Dallas Morning News, we can finally exhale—Roy Oswalt has signed with the Texas Rangers.

Ken Rosenthal reports that Texas will pay Oswalt $5-6 million, pro-rated for the amount of time he spends with the team. This is a good deal for both Oswalt and the Rangers: Oswalt gets to make a run at a World Series ring as a member of one of the best teams in baseball, and the Rangers get a decent replacement for Neftali Feliz, who will miss at least a month with elbow inflammation. Jon Heyman says Texas expects Oswalt in the bigs by late June.

Oswalt pitched well enough last year with the Phillies, but a balky lower back landed him on the disabled list twice and kept him from being ready to pitch at the start of this season, so it's unclear what kind of pitcher the Rangers will get here. If any team can maximize Oswalt's remaining abilities, though, it's the Rangers. They've got Nolan Ryan and Mike Maddux around to mentor, and they've turned cast-offs like Colby Lewis into valuable major-league pitchers. Despite playing half their games in the bandbox at Arlington, they've recently sported some of MLB's best rotations.

What's more, Oswalt is an avid hunter and just purchased 3,000 acres in Mississippi which he plans to turn into his own personal hunting camp. So Texas was probably a better fit than Boston or Philly.

Rangers sign Oswalt [Dallas Morning News]