"Once the tumult of free agency started to wind down in early January, word came out that free agent pitcher Roy Oswalt apparently wanted to pitch in Texas.

And while Oswalt -- and two-time 20-game winner and multiple All-Star during his days with the Houston Astros -- would have been the type of pitcher the Rangers' would've jumped at in years past, budget restrictions seems to have the club laying back on the Oswalt race.

In fact, one analyst is so convinced that the Rangers aren't a realistic suitor for Oswalt that he's ready to count them out already.

"When you start to look at the landscape, these teams that he's been trying to get to sign him just aren't getting there," ESPN's Jayson Stark said on Baseball Tonight. "He wanted to go to Texas, [but] that's not going to happen. ... So his choices still come down to going to Boston, where they have a clear need but he doesn't seem to want to play, and going to St. Louis, where all of his friends say he would love to be. But to do that, he has got to do it on their terms and their price.""