Re-signing Lewis may be Rangers' best option to add depth
The Winter Meetings are approaching, but the Texas Rangers seem likely to look in-house to fulfill a desire for more pitching depth.
Veteran Colby Lewis is having his surgically repaired left knee looked at by medical officials this week. If he comes out of that examination looking healthy, GM Jon Daniels told T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, it might directly influence the Rangers' chances of re-signing Lewis:
Looking ahead to the 2016 season, the Rangers' pitching staff looks to be in relatively good shape. They already have four rotation spots more or less locked down, with Cole Hamels, Derek Holland, Martin Perez and Yu Darvish (once he returns early in the season from Tommy John surgery) on the depth chart.
"We love Colby," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "We'd like to have him back in a Rangers uniform. We are waiting until he gets a checkup on his knee and evaluate where we are. We want to make sure he'll be ready to go and there are no setbacks."
They're almost assuredly losing Yovani Gallardo to the free agent market, in part because (as Sullivan points out) Gallardo is seeking a long-term contract and the Rangers already have those four starters tied to long-term deals. Lewis, meanwhile, would likely come back with a short-term contract if the two sides were to come to an agreement.
Of course, not wanting to take on another expensive multi-year deal could influence Daniels and the Rangers to look to the trade market for a cost-controlled, quality young pitcher...but he says that won't be an easy task either:
All this seems to point to someone like Lewis being the best option on the market, then, for the Rangers. He went 17-9 with a 4.66 ERA in 2015, and despite allowing 26 home runs and an opponents' batting average of .266 he was a solid, dependable back-of-the-rotation arm for manager Jeff Banister. With the Rangers needing just that to complement the three lefties in the rotation (and Darvish, once he returns), Lewis might be the perfect candidate to fill the slot.
"We've talked to clubs, but the opportunity to acquire young, controllable guys, the price is understandably high," Daniels said.
