Rangers right-hander Colby Lewis will undergo surgery to remove bone spurs from his hip that have hampered him for multiple seasons, general manager Jon Daniels told reporters (including Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram) via conference call today.
Daniels said that he would "absolutely" like to have Lewis back with the Rangers in 2014. Lewis told the group that he wants to pitch next season, and the torn flexor tendon in his right arm that's kept him off the field since last July has healed completely.
The 34-year-old Lewis revived what looked to be a lost career with a pair of stellar seasons in Japan from 2008-09. He signed a two-year, $5MM contract with a $3.25MM option that proved to be a tremendous bargain for the Rangers. Following last year's season-ending injury, Texas signed him a to a one-year, $2MM extension that clearly didn't pay off, as Lewis hasn't thrown a pitch at the Major League level in 2013.
In 506 1/3 innings for the Rangers from 2010-12, Lewis pitched to a 3.93 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. He had issues with the long ball in that time, as his 35 homers allowed in 2011 were the most in the American League. I'd imagine that the ceiling for Lewis on the upcoming free agent market would be a similarly small guarantee to the one he received for 2013 and plenty of incentives, but he could have to settle for a minor league deal as well.
