Lewis Suffers Another Setback

The Texas Rangers could use some pitching reinforcements and one of the lead candidates to fill that role is now being shut down for a second time since beginning his rehab as veteran starter Colby Lewis won't pitch for at least two more weeks after experiencing soreness during his rehab assignment resulting from July's surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his elbow.

The soreness isn't directly related to his previous injury but it is a muscular soreness in his elbow, similar to a pitcher getting prepared for the season during spring training.

"It's kind of a like it's just pressure,'' Lewis told the Associated Press. ''It's not really any sharp pain. It's like a dull achiness. ... The more I play catch, the better I feeling. They say that's a good sign, that when you get looser it gets better.''

Lewis was 6-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 2012 before being shut down for the season in July and undergoing elbow surgery. He's been a rock in the Rangers' rotation since joining the team in 2010 after pitching a couple of seasons in Japan and a guaranteed innings-eater.

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said the on-again-off-again rehab is becoming frustrating, as he's now looking at a return sometime in July barring anymore setbacks.

"Obviously it's frustrating, but it's unrelated to his surgery. It's not ligament or the tendon. It's muscular, it's not structural,'' Daniels said. ''The silver lining, he shouldn't be down long, but I think these are kind of some of the normal ups and downs just with getting starting. It's almost like he's in spring training mode. ... We all have a pretty high degree of confidence that if he can get through it, he will. The medical staff feels like he will.''

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