After Jon Daniels no-commented the broken news that the Rangers had a deal in place for Colby Lewis, Jeff Wilson is also now reporting that Texas has signed former #1 draft pick, recovering alcoholic and official ex-con Matt Bush to a minor-league deal.  Bush was drafted in 2004 but topped out at AA for San Diego.  He spent a short amount of time with Toronto before signing with the Rays; the Rays released him after a drunk-driving accident.  Bush plead no contest to a DUI hit-and-run in 2012, and was released from prison in October.  Bush has been working with Rangers faith and substance abuse guru Roy Silver, who endorsed the signing.  Silver received a lot of attention for his work with Josh Hamilton; keeping the slugger mostly straight, if not really narrow during his first stint in Texas.  After discontinuing his work with Silver, Hamilton relapsed with cocaine while playing for L.A.A.

Scouts say Bush probably has no future as a starter at this point, but a quality fastball could fast-track him into the bullpen.  I'm sure we'll be hearing more about this soon.

Posted by: Ben at 02:21 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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