Roy Oswalt rumors are officially back in style, after a lull in the wake of his decision to hold out of MLB action until June, but the St. Louis Cardinals are a different team than the one that reportedly signed him back in January. Back then the question was whether Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook would be good enough to stick in a championship contender's rotation; now the Cardinals' rotation's weakest link is Adam Wainwright, who they aren't about to give up on, and neither Westbrook nor Lohse has struggled enough to precipitate a rotation reboot with Oswalt involved.

Oswalt's timetable—whatever his reasons for instituting it—could be the undoing of what was supposed to be his Cardinals career. Shortly after he announced it the Cardinals realized they'd lose Chris Carpenter until July; Oswalt would have been a great fit in April and May, but now he's redundant, and in the meantime Lance Lynn has gotten off to an outstanding start.

Some contender will no doubt call for Oswalt's services, but the frontrunners in the bidding over the winter don't seem to have room for him anymore, unless he can play center field.