For the New York Mets, age is just another number, at least thats what they must be saying about their latest off-season acquisition. The Mets agreed to sign 40-year-old right handed starter Bartolo Colon to a two-year contract worth $20 million at the Baseball Winter Meetings today. The deal is pending a physical.
Colon missed the first 50 games of last season serving a suspension for PED use. However despite that missed time, and his advanced age, he was the ace of the Oakland Athletics staff, going 18-6 with three complete games in 30 starts. Overall he finished with a 2.65 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 190.1 Innings Pitched. He struck out 117 and walked only 29 over those 30 starts. The numbers got him into the conversation for the Cy Young Award, but ultimately those missed starts at the beginning of the season may have been what cost him, which is not to take anything away from Max Scherzer’s fantastic season.
The A’s acknowledged that they would not be able to meet Colon’s salary demands when they signed Scott Kazmir earlier in the off-season.
Colon joins a Mets rotation that includes right-handers Zack Wheeler and Dillon Gee and left-hander Jon Niese. The Mets are evaluating options for their fifth starter position. The Mets will be without their ace, Matt Harvey, who is undergoing off-season Tommy John surgery and should miss the entire 2014 season.
The Mets have shown a real willingness to spend this off-season, signing Curtis Granderson to a four-year, $60 million deal and Chris Young to a one-year, $7.25 million contract since this off-season.
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Main Photo Credit: Keith Allison on Flickr, Creative Commons
