If you wanted to highlight some of the unsung heroes of the New York Mets this season, one of the first names that comes to mind is setup man Addison Reed, who posted career bests in ERA (1.97), WHIP, (0.905) appearances (80) and innings pitched (77.2) while leading the majors with 40 holds, ten more than second place finisher Neftali Feliz.
On a smaller scale you can turn to rookies Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo – who arrived on the heels of what could have been a disaster after the team announced that Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz were likely out for the season. If not for both of their strong efforts the Mets might never complete that 27-13 run that led to the team’s second consecutive postseason appearance – a feat only accomplished once before in franchise history. The team went 11-3 in the 14 starts Gsellman and Lugo made from August 25 to the end of the regular season and the two combined for a 2.54 ERA in that span.
And then there’s Bartolo Colon, who led the rotation with 15 wins and delivered his third straight season of 30 or more starts – last accomplished by Mike Pelfrey. The veteran right-hander posted a 3.44 ERA and 1.210 WHIP this season and for the second year in a row he had an MLB-best 1.50 walk rate among all qualified starters. All of this in his age 43 season.
You want to talk about unsung heroes, I don’t know where the Mets would have been without Bartolo Colon. He of course was supposed to be dispatched to the bullpen in July upon the return of Zack Wheeler, but as all of you know that never happened. Instead, the Mets again and again relied upon him in times of crisis and Colon for the most part never let the team down.
Like Gsellman and Lugo, Colon was also strong down the stretch going 6-2 in his last 12 starts with a 3.17 ERA and 1.192 WHIP that could have been even better if not for the 2.1 innings and seven earned runs against the Miami Marlins on the day following the passing of Jose Fernandez.
So let’s get right to the point. Should the Mets bring Colon back and for how much? The answer is an emphatic yes and I would think he should get a lot more than the $7.25 million he got this year. According to FanGraphs, Colon was worth $23.2 million in 2016, so I’d say offering Colon $12 million to return in 2017 would be fair and reasonable.
With Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz all returning from varying degrees of surgery next spring training, I think having Colon in camp as a safety net is a no-brainer. And I wouldn’t be shocked if he led the team in starts again – although I would hope that’s not the case. Still, give the big guy his just rewards.
