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Roy Oswalt Reportedly Turned Down 1-Year, $10 Million Deal With Detroit Tigers

Before the Tigers went and shocked the world by signing Prince Fielder to a nine-year, $214 million contract last week, the team reportedly had a heavy interest in Roy Oswalt filling the No. 5 spot in the pitching rotation. The day prior to the Tigers agreeing to a deal with Fielder, reports surfaced that Oswalt was not interested in playing for Detroit, though.

Today, CBSSports' Jon Heyman passes along the info that Oswalt turned down a one-year, $10 million deal:

Though Oswalt's agent Bob Garber denied it, one other person familiar with the Tigers' discussions with regarding said Oswalt declined to accept Detroit's offer of about $10-million after it met Garber's asking price. That person said Garber requested $10 million, but after Tigers owner Mike Ilitch signed off on the $10 million, Garber later informed Detroit that Oswalt was not prepared to take the offer. Garber denied by text that he had asked for $10 million, saying, "I never gave the Tigers a number.''

Now that Fielder has signed and Oswalt rebuffed the Tigers interest, Detroit's beat writer Jason Beck said he'd be surprised if one of the Tigers' young in-house pitchers didn't wind up with the final spot in the rotation.

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