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.