The Fan Hub

The indications at this point are that veteran right-hander “Roy Oswalt”: will likely sign with the St. Louis Cardinals in the next few days after having negotiations with both the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox as well. But that doesn’t mean that the Red Sox are out of it, as Gordon Edes of ESPN reports that the Sox in particular could still have a “great chance” of signing him to bolster a starting rotation that faces serious question marks.

John Lackey is gone for the season with Tommy John surgery (which many would say is a blessing), and Josh Beckett and Jon Lester are both under a great deal of pressure after being the faces of the ‘fried chicken and beer’ controversy during the collapse last season. Meanwhile, Clay Buchholz has yet to put together a year where he’s been healthy from start to finish, Daniel Bard is completely untested as a starter, and anyone of their prospects like Michael Bowden would be as well. Suffice to say, the Sox could really use a veteran presence like Oswalt. The only question is how much in terms of years and dollars they’re willing to commit, and if it would be enough to outbid the Cards.

Also factoring into the decision is that the Sox made an offer to free agent Edwin Jackson, but will likely lose out on his services.