Washington re-signed Chien-Ming Wang to a one-year, $4 million deal, but general manager Mike Rizzo said today that the Nationals are still looking for veteran starting pitching and Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports that they’ve “expressed interest” in Roy Oswalt.
Ladson adds that Rizzo and the Nationals pursued Oswalt when the Astros were shopping him in 2010, but he was eventually traded to the Phillies.
Rizzo didn’t actually name Oswalt, but specified that he’s looking for “a good leader-type of guy that throws a lot of innings, has shown that he can win in the big leagues, and really lead our staff.”
Oswalt’s back problems limited him to just 139 innings this season, but he threw at least 180 innings in each of the previous seven seasons and his .631 career winning percentage ranks ninth among all active pitchers (for whatever that’s worth, of course). Mark Buehrle also seems to fit Rizzo’s description, assuming the Nationals can sell either pitcher on their being legitimate contenders.
