One of the questions I get asked a lot is whether I think Bartolo Colon will be traded this offseason. I still feel the same way now as I did before the trade deadline and believe Colon will be in the 2015 Opening Day rotation.
Back in July, I took issue with this prevailing notion that the Mets would trade Colon to anyone that would simply take his contract off their hands – even for no players in return. One site continued to push that narrative all through the waiver period that followed, but when all was said and done Bartolo was still a Met. Big surprise to them, not to me.
Sandy Alderson would never just give Colon away especially after giving the fan base quite the sell job after signing him for $20 million dollars and then trying to justify that second guaranteed year that no other team was willing to offer.
Simply giving him away at the time, would also have fanned the flames that the Mets were STILL in financial distress, something they’ve been trying desperately to extinguish, albeit quite unsuccessfully.
Colon and his remaining $11 million should be easier to move this offseason, but I’m still convinced the Mets will keep him.
For one, Sandy Alderson could get a lot more in return by trading Jon Niese or Dillon Gee who other teams view more favorably than Colon – who still carries a lot of risk.
But secondly, and perhaps more importantly, Sandy Alderson could keep Colon because he’s a workhorse who stabilizes the rotation, serves as a hedge against Matt Harvey not returning at full strength, and he provides and insurance against injuries and innings caps.
The Mets would still have to kick in some money to facilitate any deal for Colon, something they would be very reluctant to do. When Colon passed through waivers without so much as one claim, it showed that nobody was willing to take on Colon’s contract even if it would have cost them nothing in return.
So to answer the question, yes, Colon will still be with the Mets in 2015.
