Jay Greenberg of the New York Post says the Mets may not need Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt. Oswalt has publicly said he would like to play for a contender and will be willing to waive his no-trade clause in order to make that happen. With that said, the Met have been a possible destination for the right-hander.

Greenberg says, “Why would they need an Oswalt, who has averaged 17 wins, a 3.23 ERA and 33 starts over a decade, unless it would be to strengthen the bullpen with [Hisanori] Takahashi, or buy insurance on the less-than proven Jon Niese, or potentially line up for a best-of-five division series with a beat-this rotation of Johan Santana-Mike Pelfrey-Oswalt?”

Greenberg adds that the Oswalt’s large contract will limit the number of suitors and also require the bidding team to offer less prospects – which plays into the Mets favor should they decide to pursue Oswalt.

Earlier on Monday, Craig Calcaterra of HardballTalk said the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros were “getting closer” to having a deal in place for Oswalt. The rumors were dismissed by Rangers GM Jon Daniels.