When Colby Lewis takes the hill on Thursday night at Globe Life Park in Arlington, it could be his final professional game in a Texas Rangers uniform.
He, and seemingly the Rangers, hope that isn't the case, as the two sides have already expressed interest in reuniting this winter to bring Lewis back for the 2015 season, but he'll make his final start of the season on Thursday night before becoming a free agent.
Lewis has been a revelation for the Rangers this year, looking lost and left for dead after undergoing an unprecedented hip resurfacing surgery last season, but the Rangers stuck with him for lack of better options and he's figured things out with his new range of motion and new delivery.
In fact, since the all-star break, Lewis has posted a 4.08 ERA, which includes two awful, awful starts against the Los Angeles Angels that would otherwise have his ERA sitting in the mid-3.00s. He's still the greatest postseason pitcher in club history and has a great determination and will that can't be coached or acquired.
Lewis would be a great piece to have on board in 2015 to work with the staff's younger arms and mentor them while serving as a great option as a No. 5 starter, and he's hoping to close his season on a high note and get an offer from the Rangers during the club's exclusive negotiating window with their own free agents, which ends five days after the completion of the World Series.
Lewis has said he wants to be back, and the Rangers have echoed the thought.
"I love the guy," interim manager Tim Bogar said. "I love his fight, his will. He has a lot he can teach young kids on how to be successful at the Major League level."
