Rangers Sign Mark Prior To Minor League Contract

You remember Mark Prior, right? The second overall pick in 2001 who came up and dominated with the Cubs for a few seasons before injuries took their toll and forced him out of the Majors? He hasn't stopped attempting to make a comeback, and Friday afternoon he found a team willing to take a chance.

It's been a long fall for Prior, who went from posting a 2.43 ERA over 30 starts with the Cubs in 2003 to making nine starts with the Cubs in 2006 to making zero Major League starts with anyone since. Most recently, he's been pitching with the independent Orange County Flyers, and just a few days ago he was profiled by Yahoo!'s Steve Henson. Wrote Henson on Prior's attitude:

"At times it’s been rough," [Prior] said. "It’s been extremely challenging from a physical standpoint. And, I guess, from a mental standpoint, too."

But he heard the same comment from his wife, his parents, his agent, his friends.

"Do you want to look back in five years and wish you gave it one more shot?" he said. "Ultimately that was the decision. I’m young, I’m fortunate that I’m secure enough to where I can ride out a year and see what I can come up with. I want to play."

A number of teams have been keeping their eyes on Prior, and the Rangers wound up being the team to bring him in. While nobody will expect much of anything and everyone wound understand if Prior never throws another pitch in the bigs, he's still able to work with his fastball in the low 90s, and just having his name in the system will always make people hopeful.

For more on this and the Rangers, check out Lone Star Ball.