Colby Lewis hoped to return but Rangers never offered guarantee

Colby Lewis was hoping for a guaranteed contract this off-season but the Rangers never offered him one. And neither did anyone else. Lewis, who pitched most of his entire major league career with the Rangers before and after a stint in Japan, was only offered a minor league deal but with no guarantees. The Rangers want him to fight for a spot in the rotation against, among others, Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross and Dillon Gee.

Lewis was at Globe Life Park Friday night to help raise money for the Do It For Durrett benefit. He has no animosity towards the Rangers, he said, and he didn’t rule out a return to the big leagues.

For me, I don’t think it would take much to put this uniform back on,” said Lewis, who looks like he’s in great shape at about 240 pounds. “Five weeks. I could get outs. I’ve never been cocky in that aspect, but for me, to be able to be competitive, I’d say five to six weeks.”

He said his wife is enjoying having him around. He’s been helping coach his 10-year-old son’s Little League team and still working out five days away, including cycling on his high-performance road bike 120 miles a week.

“My wife wants me to be retired,” he said.

Lewis called the off-season market weird, especially for guys his age. He was surprised the Rangers didn’t at least offer him the major league minimum to come back this season.

“I just though there would be more on the plate for me to come back, especially here. And there just wasn’t,” he said. “I always wanted to stay here. I’ve been here forever and I’m going to be 38 this season and they’re going to make me fight for a spot? It was a tough pill for me to swallow. Still is.”

But he understands the business and holds no grudge.

“Truthfully, I’ve got the years and the financial side of things where I’d always wanted them,” he said. “There’s no animosity. I just didn’t want to have to go prove myself for an organization that I’d been in forever.”

This story was originally published June 16, 2017 at 9:38 PM with the headline "Colby Lewis hoped to return but Rangers never offered guarantee."