Lewis, coming off arm surgery, agrees to 2013 deal with Rangers

If Colby Lewis pitches in 2013, it will be for the Texas Rangers.

The club announced Monday that it had reached agreement on a one-year contract with Lewis for 2013 that will pay a base salary of $2 million but could earn him up to another $4 million in incentives. Lewis had surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right arm in July. Recovery from that usually takes 10 to 12 months.

"This is home," Lewis said. "This is where I want to be, and ... when the offer came about, it was really easy to get the deal done."

The deal gives the Rangers some potential second-half depth for the 2013 season. After two years of significant stability and relatively good health in the rotation, the Rangers have been forced to use 11 different starters in 2013. They added Roy Oswalt in May and then traded for Ryan Dempster before the July 31 deadline. While Oswalt has been a bust, Dempster has won five consecutive starts.

The Rangers have three healthy starters under control for next year: Matt Harrison, Derek Holland and Yu Darvish. Martin Perez, who will start Friday, appears to be a prime candidate to move into the rotation. However, that still leaves the Rangers a pitcher short unless they move Alexi Ogando from the bullpen back to the rotation.

Lewis, 33, could begin some light exercises with his arm in the next couple of weeks. He is not expected to be ready for the start of the season, but could conceivably come back before the All-Star break.

Lewis was the Rangers' Opening Day starter this year, and he went 6-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 16 starts. He is 32-29 with a 3.93 ERA in 80 regular-season starts and 4-1 with a 2.34 ERA in eight postseason starts since rejoining the Rangers in 2010.