Lewis Says He's Ready to Roll

Colby Lewis, until further notice, will forever be known as the greatest postseason pitcher in Texas Rangers history. Better than Cliff Lee. Better than Derek Holland. Better than John Burkett. The best. End of discussion.

For the past two years now, it's seemed like a forgone conclusion that Lewis wouldn't be pitching for the Rangers after he hit free agency following the 2012 season, but he was shut down over the summer that year to undergo elbow surgery.

He was all set to come back last year after signing a club-friendly one-year deal to re-establish his value and even made a few rehab starts in May before suffering a setback with his hip and needing hip surgery, putting him for the entire 2013 season and leading him to sign an even club-friendlier minor league deal for 2014 with an invite to spring training.

Knowing Lewis, you can fully expect him to be on the major league roster come April.

Lewis spoke with 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday and said he feels the best he's felt in five years, which is great music to the ears of Rangers fans and a front office that's scrambling trying to find pitching now that Derek Holland is out until at least the end of July, if not for the season after micro-fracture surgery.

Lewis hasn't pitched in the bigs since July 2012, but he's still relatively young at 34 and was rocking a 3.43 ERA before his injury in 2012, on pace for a career year.

He said he's ready to compete for a spot in the rotation.

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“I want to be able to roll in and hit the ground running," Lewis told The Fan. "I don’t want to have any limitations. I don’t want them to put me on any limited regiment. I want to go out and compete and them not worry about what’s going on.”

If Lewis can be ready for Opening Day and be a viable part of the starting rotation, it'd be a huge bonus for the Rangers, especially given the Holland injury.

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