Mets sign 40-year-old Bartolo Colon for two years, $20 million

By Aaron GleemanDec 11, 2013, 5:27 PM EDT
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Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that the Mets have agreed to a two-year, $20 million deal with Bartolo Colon.

Colon going from out of baseball in 2010 to throwing 507 innings with a 3.32 ERA over the past three seasons is a remarkable story, especially considering he was 38 years old when the comeback began.

Now he’s 40 and coming off a 2.65 ERA in 30 starts for the A’s, but Colon’s secondary numbers are far less impressive. He managed just 117 strikeouts in 190 innings and essentially now just pumps low-90s fastballs for strikes and relies on good defense behind him.

Don’t expect him to post another sub-3.00 at age 40–or at age 41 in 2015–but at this point $8-$10 million per season is the going rate for a decent veteran starter and his market was strong enough that a multi-year commitment was needed to get a deal done.

Meanwhile, the A’s essentially replaced Colon in the rotation by signing Scott Kazmir to a two-year, $22 million deal.

The Cubs are considering a sportsbook at Wrigley Field

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By Craig CalcaterraJun 17, 2019, 2:38 PM EDT
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With the nationwide ban on sports gambling gone — and with sports gambling regulations slowly being implemented on a state-by-state basis — any number of businesses are considering getting in on the action. Among those businesses are the Chicago Cubs.

ESPN reports that the club is considering opening gambling facilities in and around Wrigley Field which might include betting windows, automated kiosks or, possibly, a full, casino-style sportsbook. They’re characterized as preliminary discussions as the team awaits the Illinois governor’s signature on recently-passed legislation allowing gambling. The Cubs aren’t commenting, but a source tells ESPN that nothing has been done yet. It’s just talk at the moment.

If the Cubs move forward from the talking stage it will cost them a pretty penny: a four-year license will, under Illinois’ new law, cost them $10 million.

Now: let’s see the White Sox take some action this year. I can think of nothing more fun than sports gambling at what was once Comiskey Park on the 100th anniversary of the Black Sox scandal.