The Texas Rangers are exercising their option on RHP Colby Lewis for the 2012 season.
Lewis, 32, has posted back-to-back seasons with at least 12 wins and 200 innings. He is the first RHP to do that for the Rangers since Rick Helling did it between 1998-2001. He was 14-10 in 2011 and 12-13 in 2010.
Lewis was also 4-1 with a 2.34 ERA in 8 postseason starts in the last two seasons.
The option for 2012 was part of the contract Lewis signed before the 2010 season.
Lewis was originally selected by Texas in the 1999 draft, and pitched for the Rangers from 2001 until 2004. He pitched for the Tigers in 2006 and A's in 2007. Lewis pitched for Hiroshima in Japan in the 2008-09 seasons before coming back to the Rangers in 2010.
Later Monday, the Rangers exercised a $1 million option on right-handed reliever Yoshinori Tateyama, who was 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 39 appearances this season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
