The Colby Lewis Extension And Other Roster Moves

Today, the Rangers announced that Colby Lewis was signed to a one-year contract extension through the 2013 season. Lewis, who has been out with an arm injury since July 23 and will miss the rest of the season, is expected to make $2 million with the ability to make up to $6 million with incentives.

June 23, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Colby Lewis (48) pitches to the Colorado Rockies in the first inning at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-US PRESSWIRE

The reason that this was done now, and that it is for a pretty decent amount of money from the team’s perspective, is that right handed pitchers coming off of a season-ending injury don’t usually get much attention on the free agent market. That, and both the Rangers and Lewis wanted to get a deal done. The two things together probably made this a really easy negotiation.

Lewis will be in the mix for a starting rotation spot next year but I’m sure that group will see some changes between now and next year. It is the one part of this team that doesn’t scream World Series contender, and the Rangers aren’t one to sit on their hands.

I like the deal for both the term and the money for both sides. Lewis gets a chance to show he deserves a big pay day and the team gets a low-risk, reliable starter locked up.

Perez to the Rotation

Ron Washington announced yesterday, like I alluded to, that Martin Perez will take Scott Feldman‘s spot in the rotation. After throwing 4.1 no-hit innings for the Rangers out of the bullpen on Saturday, Perez showed he belonged and along with Feldman’s struggles made it an easy switch. Feldman hasn’t pitched bad, but still hasn’t gotten the results the team needs from him.

Perez will be looking to sneak into the playoff rotation but with Derek Holland, Ryan Dempster, Matt Harrison and Yu Darvish, that doesn’t appear too, too likely barring collapse from one of the others or more lights out pitching from Perez. On the bright side, it allows the Rangers to see what they have in Perez as they set their roster for next year.

Grimm, Font Called Up

After AA Frisco was eliminated, the Rangers added two more pitchers to the bullpen for some depth in Justin Grimm and Wilmer Font. Grimm was already up this year and adds a guy who can throw multiple innings if the bullpen is taxed in a long game or a game where Washington wants to rest is more reliable arms.

Font will be making his major league debut if called upon. He is recovering from Tommy John surgery and has topped out in the minors at AA. He has a major fastball and although he has been used out of the bullpen to help his recovery from arm troubles, he has back-of-the-rotation potential as a starting pitcher although he is not ready for that role at this point. It is another opportunity to see some glimpse into what the Rangers have in their system at the Major League level and how close or far those arms may be.