When the Texas Rangers picked up Roy Oswalt this spring, the move was considered a good catch.
Oswalt had been pursued by several other teams, and while he wasn't expected to put the Rangers over the top, he was a help to a Texas rotation that had lost some marquee pitchers over the last couple of seasons as Cliff Lee went to Philadelphia and C.J. Wilson signed with the Angels, both in free agency.
But when the Rangers beat out other suitors at this summer's trade deadline to sign Ryan Dempster, Oswalt's role on the team also changed. Oswalt was asked to pitch out of the bullpen starting Thursday, which he did — until this Sunday, when the career-long starter seemed to say he's done with relief appearances.
Oswalt came into Sunday's game against the Royals, which was tied 6-6, and threw a flawless seventh and eighth innings on 30 pitches, with four strikeouts. When called on to go out for the ninth, though, Oswalt took his stand.
"He said he couldn't go any further," Texas manager Ron Washington said, according to MLB.com. "He said he had enough."
Oswalt had said Saturday that he was not happy working from the bullpen.
"I'm a starter," he said, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I'm not really a bullpen guy."
While the Rangers are 4-2 in Oswalt's starts, he has a 5.82 ERA this season and has given up more than 10 hits in three of his last five starts. With the rest of the rotation clicking, he was the odd man out.
"We're 4-2 in the games I started. I guess I should've been 6-0," Oswalt said.
The Rangers have acknowledged Oswalt wants to start but haven't said whether their setup will change. Oswalt said he didn't know what the team's plans were going forward.
Of the 347 games Oswalt has appeared in during his career, he has started 332.
The Rangers lost Sunday 7-6.
Photo via Facebook/Roy Oswalt
