Four Available Free Agent Arms Who Might Help Your Team
By Matt Veasey
AGING FORMER FIRST ROUNDER
Colby Lewis was the Texas Rangers first round pick at 38th overall in the 1999 MLB Amateur Draft.
By 2003, Lewis was making 26 starts and winning 10 games in the Texas rotation. It wasn’t enough to earn him protection, however, and the Detroit Tigers selected him off waivers.
An injury early in the 2004 season resulted in rotator cuff surgery, and knocked Lewis off the mound for the better part of two years.
After bouncing through the Washington and Oakland organizations over a couple of seasons, Lewis decided to try to resurrect his career in Japan.
In 2008, Lewis signed with Hiroshima, and over two seasons there showed that he still could pitch effectively. Lewis went 26-17 with a 2.82 ERA in Japan, earning him another shot back in the states.
BACK TO THE RANGERS
That shot would come with his original MLB organization. Back with the Rangers, Lewis went 12-13 in the 2010 season, helping the club win the AL West crown.
After shutting out Tampa Bay over five innings of a loss in Game 3 of the ALDS, he came up huge in the ALCS. There Lewis won a pair of games against the New York Yankees. In the clinching Game 6, Lewis allowed just a run on three hits.
Lewis then pitched well in his lone World Series start, a 4-2 win over the San Francisco Giants in Game 3 that would prove to be the only Texas win in that Fall Classic.
He helped Texas repeat in the AL West with a 14-10 season in 2011, and again made four postseason starts as the Rangers returned to the World Series. Lewis was the starting pitcher in the pivotal Game 6, leaving with the game tied at 4-4.
This was the famous game where Texas held a two-run lead with two outs and two strikes in both the 9th and 10th innings, one strike away from a world championship, only to watch Saint Louis rally to tie. The Cards would win it in the 11th, then win the World Series the following night.
MORE ELBOW TROUBLE, AND ANOTHER COMEBACK
Lewis went 6-6 through June in 2012, but his right elbow began barking. Sidelined until after the All-Star break, he would make just one more start before needing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon. That surgery would sideline him for much of 2013, and he would appear in just seven games between AA and AAA in the minors.
In each of the last three years, Lewis has re-signed with Texas on one-year deals. He has gone a combined 33-28 over 81 starts, tossing 491.1 innings as a reliable 4th starter type.
This past year he even started in Game 3 of the ALDS vs the Toronto Blue Jays. Lewis was roped around for five runs and five hits in just two innings in a game that the Jays would eventually win by 7-6 to sweep the series.
Now 37 years of age, Lewis could probably be had on a one-year, $5 million deal – maybe even for a million or two less.
The Rangers are reportedly considering bringing Lewis back. However, his experience, especially in the postseason, would seem ideal for many contenders, especially at his price and contract commitment length.