If the Mets continue to play competitive baseball, should they (can they) take a look at Oswalt? He has a career record of 159-93, 3.21 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 3.58 xFIP, 1.19 WHIP and turns 35 in August. I'd guess that it'd take $6mil to sign him for the balance of the season, assuming he starts playing in mid-to-late June.

As I see the Mets, their two biggest question marks for competing this year are the bullpen and the #5 slot in the rotation. Oswalt answers the rotation question in a big way - you could even slot him in as a #2. The benefits are a) he would not cost them any prospects or draft picks; b) he would not cost a ton of money; c) he would make the team much more likely to make the playoffs; and d) he would not block someone like Harvey or Wheeler from reaching the majors beyond the end of August, while simultaneously helping prevent the Mets from having to rely on a rookie to make a possible post-season run.

I believe Oswalt has said he doesn't want to come to New York. Is that because he thought the Mets wouldn't be competitive and didn't want to play in the AL? Or does the Mississippi boy simply prefer a quieter setting like Philadelphia?

Other options seem to be Chris Young, Miguel Batista, Chris Schwinden, Jeremy Hefner, Jenrry Mejia, Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler or make a trade. If the Mets can afford it, which remains a major question as far as I know, doesn't Oswalt make sense for this team?