Sources have told Andy Martino of the Daily News that the Mets are willing to eat approximately $2 million what remains on Colon’s two-year, $20 million contract ($11 million next season).
He adds that despite being 42 next season, given Colon’s current level of performance, it is not crazy to think he could find a one-year, $9 million deal this winter, if he were a free agent.
There hasn’t been much buzz among teams regarding Colon, in fact it’s been awfully quiet. I expected to hear the rumor mill churning after a solid start on Wednesday, but not really. His low strikeout rate and an ERA north of 4.00 is probably scaring some suitors, but there’s also cheaper options available who can produce at the same level.
Martino concludes that while it’s clear the Mets would like to move Colon, they are not desperate to do so. If Sandy Alderson gets his price they’ll move him, if not he’ll simply keep Colon.
I’ll tell you what won’t happen, and that’s this theory that he’ll be waived in August so that a team could simply claim him and the Mets are off the hook on his salary. If that happens, as preposterous as it sounds, bring your pitchforks and torches and lets march on over to Citi Field.
I do hope we can move Colon and as I’ve stated all along they’ll have to eat some salary to do it. The Mets were the only team willing to give Colon a dime for 2015 and that’s the only reason he’s a Met today.
But if we can toss in $3-4 million and turn him into a solid prospect, then that’s what you do. If you get no bites then wait until the offseason to trade him.
(Joe D.)
July 24 – Bartolo Colon Is Upping His Trade Value At The Perfect Time
Bartolo Colon was an interesting gamble for Mets general manager Sandy Alderson in the off-season. I believe Sandy had every intention of flipping Colon for young prospects prior to this year’s trade deadline. Bartolo’s Cy Young caliber performance in Oakland last year was expected to carry over to Flushing in 2014 and while it hasn’t been that stellar, he has put up above average numbers and continued his work-horse like ability to eat up innings .
With the exception of a complete shelling against the Los Angeles Angels back in April, where Bartolo gave up back-to-back-to-back home runs in the 1st inning – allowing 9 earned runs over the course of 5.0 total innings, the big man has performed well.
Although July was a month where he began to slip again 0-3 over his last 4 starts, sporting a hefty 5.88 ERA, teams pushing towards contention were reportedly checking in on the veteran. Last night’s outing should prove to spark trade suitors in a serious way as he yet again showed his ability to make in-game adjustments, battle to keep his teammates in a position to win, and even flirt with perfection. So if Bartolo is pitching well enough to earn a solid #3 or #4 spot on any rotation, why would the Mets be so inclined to move him?
For starters, the Mets have a rare, but welcomed, glut of young starting pitching. Next year, Matt Harvey will return from Tommy John surgery to join a budding Zack Wheeler, as well as other strongholds like Jacob deGrom, Dillon Gee and Jon Niese.
This doesn’t even include the young stars developing in the minors like Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Rafael Montero to name just a few. With all the depth, it makes sense for the Amazins’ to move Colon’s salary off the books and put the money to better use in the free agency market during the offseason.
It has been well documented by fans and critics alike that the Mets need offensive upgrades at shortstop and left field. Between Chris Young’s contract expiring and Colon getting traded, Alderson will have an additional $18.25 million to work with in the Winter of 2015, with $11 million of that sum belonging to Colon. In Mets Land, that’s a lot of greenbacks.
Lastly, the Mets front office has had great success in bolstering the farm system during recent years by flipping veterans for high ceiling prospects. The San Francisco Giants have been the most common name bounced around in trade rumors and while they don’t have any position players that would make sense for a return of Colon, they do sport a healthy batch of young arms that, as we’ve seen, you can never have enough of.
Looking at MLB.com’s top ranked prospects for San Fran, specifically numbers 11-20, seven of the players are pitchers, some of whom already have experience at the major league level. I don’t see the Giants moving a top 10 prospect for a 41 year old veteran who’s owed an eight-figure salary at age 42, but their starting pitchers this season have been inconsistent and the Los Angeles Dodgers have kept the N.L. West pennant race tight. To make matters more difficult, there is a great amount of uncertainty surrounding Matt Cain’s elbow, so it makes sense for Colon to return to the Bay area.
The only caveat with the Giants is that they may be physically unable to take on Colon’s salary next year, which justifies reports stating that the Mets may have to take on a portion of it for 2015. If Alderson agrees to pay somewhere in the range of $3-4MM for next season, but leveraged this compromise as a reason to move up into the top 10 of San Francisco’s prospects, I think it may be worth consideration. Having another top pitching prospect would take pressure off of Sandy and perhaps allow him to trade one of our own top pitchers for an upgrade at shortstop or left field in the offseason, something that would make many Mets fans happy.
Lets Go Mets!
