Texas Rangers: Is Colby Lewis Enough?

The Texas Rangers have ignored outside options and re-signed 36-year-old, Colby Lewis, to pitch again in 2016. Will that be enough?

Not unlike every other team in baseball, starting pitching is a concern for the Texas Rangers and their fans. In an age where you can never have enough viable arms, pitching is priority, regardless of a club’s competitive situation. The defending AL West champion Texas Rangers are no different.

The Texas Rangers, married to their $135M budget, flippantly ignored the free agent market this winter and set their sights on the bargain bin, eventually coming to terms with familiar face arm, Colby Lewis. Many are now asking, will Lewis be enough to round out the rotation and put the Texas Rangers back into the playoff contention?

With the re-signing of Colby Lewis, the Texas Rangers now have a starting rotation of Cole Hamels, Derek Holland, Martin Perez, Colby Lewis, and Nick Martinez. Behind that is Chi Chi Gonzalez and a few other young arms, more than capable of filling in when the inevitable injury pops up.

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Simply said, that starting rotation is good enough for an AL West championship repeat, and with the mid-summer addition of Yu Darvish, it’s good for a postseason run as well. Questions surround Yu Darvish, of course…

1. How good will Darvish be when he returns from Tommy John?
2. What role, if any, did Darvish have in his brother’s illegal gambling ring?
3. Regardless of involvement, will the distraction of an investigation impact Yu Darvish’s game?

All of the questions surrounding Darvish will play out in the coming months, so the re-signing of Colby Lewis is more important now more than ever. Lewis, coming off one of his best seasons, may be in the twilight of his career but he’s a reliable option in the toughest of circumstances. He’s a clubhouse leader, a veteran innings-eater, and an asset to the Rangers organization in every way possible.

With Lewis, the Texas Rangers have four proven starters leading the rotation. Nick Martinez or Chi Chi Gonzalez may prove to surpass Lewis this season, but Lewis takes that pressure off their backs and allows the Rangers to patiently develop their many arms who stand on the cusp.

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Like it or not, the Texas Rangers are operating within a budget. If the free agent market has taught us anything this winter, it’s that prices are ballooning and a bubble may be forming. Now is a very bad time to be shopping the market – making trading and/or developing within, the only cost-effective means to upgrade.

The Rangers expressed mild interest in Justin Upton (what else is new), but Upton just signed a ridiculous 6-year/ $132.75M contract with the Detroit Tigers proving the Texas Rangers were never in his ballpark…or the parking lot of said ballpark.

Throw in Chris Davis’ 7-year / $161M deal, Jason Heyward’s 8-year / $184M deal, Zack Greinke’s 6-year / $206.5M deal, and David Price’s 7-year / $217M deal, and the Rangers had no choice but to rethink their strategy and update their free agent expectations.

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Lewis signed to a modest 1 year/$6M deal to remain in Texas. Looking at the market, $6M is a relative steal considering last season he pitched 204.2 innings, had 17 wins, an ERA of 4.66, 1.24 WHIP, and 1.0 WAR.

Lewis isn’t a threat to pitch no-hitters like some of the top free agent names mentioned above are, but he’s a workhorse that can consistently deliver 6 strong innings with four runs against. That’s not great but it’s workable considering the Rangers bullpen and lineup are so strong.

In fact, considering the Texas Rangers have, what Buster Olney calls, one of the best lineups in the game, the Rangers shouldn’t feel the need to frivolously spend money just for the sake of it. The top players on the market are sure to have substantial diminishing returns while a player like Colby Lewis may prove to be the best value-signing of free agency.

Next: Are Payroll Limitations Hurting the Rangers?

Colby Lewis may not light the fire in Rangers Nation like adding Upton, Yoenis Cespedes, or David Price would do, but it’s a good use of a limited budget and keeps the Texas Rangers in contention.