The Rangers agreed to sign Mark Prior to a minor league deal, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter). A Rangers official told Wilson that the Rangers signed Prior with the long-term in mind, not necessarily 2010. The right-hander doesn't turn 30 until next week, so he's still relatively young.
Prior, who had signed with the Orange County Flyers of the Independent Golden League, auditioned for teams earlier in the summer, but no one signed him. The Padres signed Prior last year, though he never pitched for San Diego at the major league level.
The Cubs selected Prior second overall in the 2001 draft and he pitched to a 2.43 ERA in 200-plus innings as a 22-year-old two years later. Soon afterwards, shoulder injuries derailed Prior's career.
lets just hope we wont be reading about stephen strasburg like this some 5 years from now
It’s extremely Ironic, but I really really hope that Mark will at least have some sort of resemblence to his old self. It will be a great great story.
Generally speaking, shoulder injuries are much tougher to return from, at least to the pitchers original ability, than elbow injuries.
That is not always the case but is what happens more often than not.
very very true. dustin mcgowan comes to mind.
Twenty strikeouts in two independent ball games gets you a minor league deal. Not bad.
he’s played 9 games, but, point made.
He didn’t say he didn’t play nine. Hejust said that he had twnty k;s in 2 gmes.
Well, he did not get 20 Ks in 2 games, so, that is also incorrect.
He’s in relieve and hasn’t pitched more than 2 innings in any of his appearances.
how does this guy keep finding a job… i wish i could have 2 good games and get 400k.
nothing personal against him or anything, but goodness baseball is a strange game.
Time to dig out my old Mark Prior jersey!
The fact that he has pitched 2 games is a big deal, when is the last time he could do that? Padres paid all his medical bills the last couple years then cut ties…maybe all that trying and not giving up is actually going to pay off. And if he got 400k it did pay off lol
“Soon afterwards, shoulder injuries derailed Prior’s career.” For what it’s worth, he didn’t have shoulder problems until August of 2006. His career wasn’t as short as people tend to remember, and most of his missed injury time early on was due to freak accidents (collision with Giles, line drive from Hawpe).
Its been speculated that the collision was what tore his shoulder and that it never recovered.
I think the Rangers have officially exhausted all of their options now
Woo! Go Mark Prior! He’s back! He’s going to win 24 games next year and take the Cy Young…
Probably not, but I really do hope he can get back to the Majors and play decently.
I agree w/ that. Even if he’s not the stud he once was, he has been through a lot the last 4-5 years. It would be a nice feel good story to just see him become a solid contributer w/ someone, whether it’s with the Rangers or someone else
Yeah I’m pulling for him. I remember when he made his Major League debut. I was like 11 years old, and as a Cubs fan seeing Prior dominate and also having Wood I thought that it was going to be the start of a long lasting great 1-2, but after everything that has happened over the years to see Prior return would be awesome.
I’m with many of the posters here, I would love to see Mark Prior come back and have a lot of success. Does anyone know what his fastball is clocking out at now? How did the scouting look?
Queue towel drill jokes in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1………..
Hopefully he hasn’t rushed back this time! Okay seriously, I wish him nothing but the best. He was a HOF talent and look at him now. Tom Seaver asked for his autograph his rookie year and now he probably can’t give away his autograph to his old fan club members. As others have said it would be a good story if he can come back healthy and help someone, it would be a great story if he can approach his original level of play. Persistence might just pay off. It’s got to be hard to walk away from a job that pay so well and is really just a game. Injuries be damned, I’d keep at it until my arm fell off if I was in his position. Godspeed Mark.
Really. More power to him. He always said he still wanted to pitch, and he kept getting his surgeries, kept rehabbing, and still didn’t give up when no one wanted him. I hope he steps on a major league mound again and I hope he does well.
You can never have too much pitching; you can never have too many pitchers to sift through either.
Prior finally getting a minor league contract is a great testament to his perseverance. If he never makes it back, he’ll at least know that he did everything he could to try and make it back.
No kidding… so many guys would’ve quit by now. I’d honestly love to see Prior have a couple healthy seasons, even out of the bullpen, wherever. It’d be a great story. Imagine if he could find his way onto a team and win a ring, even as a long man or something… it’d be a phenomenal story and a great testament to his perseverance. I wish him the best of luck.
Moments after signing the deal, Prior complained of sharp pains in his hand. “Its really nothing.” the Rangers official told the gathered crowd, “Mark will pitch a bullpen session in a couple of days and then hopefully we can have him pitch a simulated game.”
Hopefully strasberg doesn’t become prior…. but good to see prior back
I think this is a good move by the Rangers. Low risk High Reward kinda guy. Has the ability/talent to make an incredible comeback. And on a minor league deal? Why not if your the Rangers.
For those curious, Prior’s stats with the Orange County Flyers are mighty pretty…
11.0 innings, 5 hits, 5 bbs, 22 k, 0.00 era, .135/.250/.184 opponent slash line
Good for Mark! I hope he can stay healthy and pitch again in the majors! We’re pulling for him!
Low risk high reward, still a good move by the rangers no matter what way you look at it… if they pull it off they look like geniuses. Im wishing the best for this one.
Mark still has upside, but he’ll obviously never be his old self.
Still, he could be decent out of the bullpen for Texas.
Risky move. VERY happy to see him back. He was an amazing guy with amazing talent. He is one of the many that lost due to injury. I really hope he bounces back and gets a title this year.
Risky move. VERY happy to see him back. He was an amazing guy with amazing talent. He is one of the many that lost due to injury. I really hope he bounces back and gets a title this year.
f’ing mark prior……. i’m not sure whether to blame him or dusty, so i’ll just blame them both. shoulda traded him for abreu when we had the chance.
I find it an interesting coincidence that both Rich Harden and Mark Prior are teamed on the same club. These two set fans imaginations on fire early in their careers with blazing fastballs and high strike out totals. A perfect sports fantasy would be for these two recapture what they once had, and combine with Cliff Lee and the Rangers potent offense, to dominate the AL. I won’t be holding my breath waiting for it to happen though.