Mark Prior on the comback trail…
Where have you been Mark Prior? I’ll never forget that fateful day in the summer of 2003 as you collided with Marcus Giles running the bases. I was sitting in the upper deck at Wrigley Field and the entire stadium went absolutely silent as you fell to the ground. Somehow you got back up, and came back into the game to pitch… that was the beginning of your terrible injury plagued career… and you can thank Dusty for screwing you over.
Where have you been Mark Prior? Last month Mark Prior signed with an Independent League team in the hopes of catching on with a Major League team with the hopes of making an improbable come back bid. Today, he took a massive step forward by signing with the Texas Rangers. That’s right, Mark Prior is back… well, sort of.
Prior is considered a long-term project and will finish the season out with the Rangers AAA affiliate in Oklahoma City. Prior showed some solid numbers as a reliever in the Independent League and the Rangers are looking to take a flyer on a former 18-game winner. The Rangers are looking at Prior as a reliever–perhaps taking the same road as Kerry Wood and moving into a closer role? We’ll see how this goes, but maybe next year Prior will be back in the bigs… or his arm will fall off again. Either way, here’s to you Mark Prior. Good luck with all of that.
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I love this move. They give up nothing and there is a lot of upside if he pans out. Sure he might not be a Cy-Young candidate, but he could prove to be a dominate set-up man or in the long run closer. But I guess it all remains to be seen if his arm can hold up.
I see a lot more towel throwing exercises in his future…
I agree… good risk. Perhaps Nolan can give him some “here’s how to stay healthy” tips.
Or he could put him in a head lock and tell him if he gets hurt again he’s going to go Robin Ventura on him.