The Texas Rangers have signed yet another hard throwing arm for their pitching staff. Well, at least when he was first called up he had great start to his career with that arm before it fell apart. Mark Prior has reportedly signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers, according to Fort Worth Star Telegram’s Jeff Wilson.
He states that the deal will not just run through 2010, but could be intact for the long-term on his Twitter page.
The Rangers have added yet another fragile arm to their staff as Prior has been cursed with injuries. They signed Rich Harden, who is always injury prone, this past offseason. Cliff Lee has been very hard working these last few years and he doesn’t exactly look like the type of pitcher that can take a ton of work in such a short amount of time.
Prior has come back to the public spotlight as his name was being thrown around when Stephen Strasburg was shut down for the next year. Prior has unofficially been donned as the dictionary definition of blowing a young arm.
When Prior came up to the Major Leagues, he was one of the most hyped up prospects in recent baseball history. The Cubs and their fans could not wait to have him on the team and called him up quickly. He pitched like an ace, but injuries would quickly catch up to him.
Some of the injuries have been odd including the most recent one where he was shut down for a few weeks due to getting hit during batting practice. But, he could have put those injuries behind him recently as he has been pitching well in the Independent League.
The last time Prior was seen in the Major Leagues, he was with the Chicago Cubs and went 1-6 with a 7.21 ERA. Kerry Wood was like Mark Prior’s twin when with the Cubs. Both were injury prone most of the time, but threw very hard.
Kerry Wood has found success with the New York Yankees in 2010. Mark Prior still has that chance for success, as he is only 29 and could turn things around.
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