The Athletics and Bartolo Colon have agreed to a one-year contract, the team announced. MLB.com's Joey Nowak reports that the deal is worth nearly $2MM and could include a signing bonus. The Diamondbacks had shown interest in Colon recently, and the Yankees indicated a willingness to re-sign him earlier this winter.
A client of Adam Katz at Wasserman Media Group, Bartolo resurrected his career with New York in 2011, pitching to a 4.00 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 164 1/3 innings after signing a minor league contract. The 38-year-old Colon did not pitch in MLB in 2010, and has been treated with stem cells from his bone marrow and fat to repair tears in his elbow and rotator cuff. He was regularly hitting 94-96 with his fastball last year before fading down the stretch.
Having traded both Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill this offseason, the Athletics are looking at Colon as a stopgap for a rotation that will also include Brandon McCarthy, and possibly a healthy Dallas Braden. Brett Anderson will be out until midseason due to Tommy John surgery, though the recently acquired Jarrod Parker, Tom Milone, and Brad Peacock will all make their case for a starting spot in Spring Training.
USA Today's Bob Nightengale first reported that Colon had agreed to a deal with an unknown team, then later added details along with CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman (all Twitter links). ESPN's Jayson Stark first reported the Athletics' involvement.
With the recent negotiations, i’m guessing a’s
Yeah, I’d have to agree,
I’d be pretty surprised if the contract is over $3MM, maybe 3.5 tops if it takes that last .5 to convince him to accept over a rival.
So we can add Bartolo to the already impressive Mystery Team starting rotation?
The twist? It’s not an MLB team. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan.
He’s joining the team in the corn field. Good luck Moonlight!
Exactly! It’s the A’s.
lololol. You win so many internets.
lololol. You win so many internets.
I’d assume Oakland.
Uhh.. Yeah.
I’d think either Arizona or Oakland even though i wouldn’t mind him in Pittsburgh
Plz not the D’backs
Huh why?
come on he´s a nice fit for the dbacks at least as a relief pitcher but he can get the job done
He would be 5th starter. No room in bullpen
And Howard Medgal’s Mystery Team signs its first player…
The Twins have often been the mystery team this offseason.
Hope it’s not Oakland. Big waste to put a decent pitcher on that team.
why? he could potentially improve his stock even more and then be dealt to a contending team, what’s the waste in that?
Plus pitching in the Colosseum will help his numbers dramatically against pitching at Yankee Stadium. Though his win-loss record probably won’t hold well…
aren’t they moving to a different stadium though?
Not for years. I would be surprised if Colon is even still pitching at all when the A’s move
Yeah I’m pretty sure no matter what, this would only be a one year thing.
Not for years. I would be surprised if Colon is even still pitching at all when the A’s move
Plus pitching in the Colosseum will help his numbers dramatically against pitching at Yankee Stadium. Though his win-loss record probably won’t hold well…
Yankees.. he just wants another ring at this point. Things happen in threes.. Pineda, Kuroda and Colon.
pineda, kuroda, colon, garcia, cc, aj, nova, hughes……
If he want’s another ring he should sign with Boston.
Arizona
Why would he do that? Best case scenario AZ has another fluke season and is slaughtered again in the first round sounds fun. I don’t think stem cell dough boy wants to play in a furnace of a stadium thats always empty especially on a team that isn’t winning anything in a garbage meth infested place like arizona.
Slaughtered in the first round again? They went to extra innings in Game 5! They were one hit away from being in the NLCS.
Just because a team makes the playoffs that you didn’t expect doesn’t make it a fluke. The D-Backs are a team that’s going to be tough for years to come.
The DBacks play in the NL West. Not the NL East or AL West or AL East. They can beat the Giants.
Why? They won’t even be in the playoffs.
Are we talking onion rings!
The Yankee already have too many arms at this point as they have Garcia, Hughes, and Burnett all vying for the #5 spot in the rotation. With Colon being signed, what would you do with all three of those arms?
hilarious that the last 2 years, yanks saw Hughes and AJ as their #2 at some point. now they gotta duke it out for a 5th slot.
Hahaha yeah. What I think will happen is, barring any injuries to the starters, that Garcia wins the #5 spot in the rotation, while Hughes gets moved to the bullpen where he has had success from in the past and Burnett either also gets moved to the bullpen or just released. I think, for guys like Burnett and Zito, that this will be their last spring training to prove to their teams that they can still be effective and not just former shells of what they used to be. Given that both the Giants and Yankees now have strong pitching depth, I wouldn’t be surprised to see either being released.
Doesn’t it seem like there are obligatory “Colonoscopy” jokes to make?
Nippon Ham Fighters
before all the comments got erased, this was my joke, so I shall like it.
Haha YES!! ^^
That mystery team… They struck again.
I guess since the A’s have a bunch of unknown players that makes them the unknown team
As an A’s fan, I approve of this joke 100%. Completely true lol.
Not sure how dependable this source is.
Scott Swaim @MLBInsideNews 20m Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
Sources: #Diamondbacks sign Bartolo Colon to 1 year deal.
If it’s true it’s being kept quiet here in the desert. Local coverage hasn’t breathed a word of a Colon signing. It might have happened, but no one seems to be picking up on it yet.
god, this guy swaim is awful. has he ever been right about anything?
Guy has a horrible track record regardless of what he says in his bio. Best thing you can do is unfollow him.
Not sure how dependable this source is.
Scott Swaim @MLBInsideNews 20m Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
Sources: #Diamondbacks sign Bartolo Colon to 1 year deal.
It is from Team “I love Lard”– The team is as follows:
An unknown team has stepped forward and signed and traded for the following players.
At
Catcher: Jose Molina
DH: David Ortiz
3B: Miguel Cabrera
2b: Ronnie Belliard
1b: Prince Fielder
SS: Troy Tulowitzki
LF: Adam Dunn
CF: Carlos Lee
RF: Lance Berkman
SP: CC Sabathia, Matt Cain, John Lackey, Carlos Zambrano, Bartolo Colon
RP: Joba Chamberlain, Todd Coffey, Bobby Jenks, Jonathan Broxton
CP: Heath Belll
Bench:
C: Miguel Olivo
1b Ryan Howard
PH/1b/OF: Matt Stairs
3b/1b/SS/OF Pablo Sandoval
Pretty solid team eh. Heh.
Sure, pretty solid team, except for no lefties in the pen and three statues in the OF. We need to find two fat lefties to round out the pen and a fat CF to help the defense.
Call Griffey Jr. Out of retirement? He’s put on a few pounds! or Austin Kearns!
George Sherrill’s a big dude. There’s your lefty.
Don’t forget about Matt Capps!
The Chico Outlaws?…I hear they’re willing to spend big on a free agent of Colon’s caliber…
rip chico heat, jose killed you. nice chico reference though.
it’s the same team that signed Kenny Powers when he moved to mexico lol
Why do i have this weird feeling, that the reds have signed him for a very small deal as insurance…
Clearly it is not the Los Angeles Angels. If it was, it would be a “mystery team” instead of an “unknown team”.
I bet it’s the Cubs. Looking for depth.
You know who doesn’t verify signings until physicals are complete…Mr Dombrowski and the Tigers. He shouldn’t cost much, and they’ve discussed needing someone to take Penny’s spot. Wouldn’t be a terrible signing….he faded at the end of 2011, so he could hold a spot until the young guys (Turner, Crosby, Smyly, Wilk, Below, Oliver) get a little more early season, low-pressure seasoning at Toledo or Erie. When he’s burned out by August, replace him in the rotation.
If the A’s signed Bartolo, it’d better be a minor league contract.
Unless OAK is Colon’s “preferred choice” of destination, there is absolutely no incentive/reason for him to sign a minor league contract. He already did that last year and proved himself admirably well.
He’s a back-end (maybe a #3 on some weaker teams) starter with big league/flashes of brilliance stuff. On a staff like the A’s he’s #3 or 4 on opening day and then stays in the rotation based on health and performance.
Playing in the Coli will only help Colon’s numbers. For a rebuilding team like the A’s, Colon is a perfect fit for what will likely be a steal of a price.
Why hasn’t Colon been signed at this late date if he’s so desire able?
Bugger. Looks like the Dbacks are out. Maybe they’ll try a similar tactic and go after Harden then. Harden should come even cheaper anyway.
Probs Oakland.
I’ve never felt the suspension like this over any other mediocre pitcher.
Well, guys like Colon will do that though. 85% of the time he is going to be average, and 10% of the time he is going to stink. But the other 5% (at least for one start a year) he’s going to look brilliant. On top of that, wherever he is going, he’s going to be going cheap.
Yeah, me too.
Hope its not the Jays. I htink they should take a flyer on Harden though even if just for moving him to the bullpen at some point.
You got your wish.
Great its the A’s.
Why so sad? He only helps. It isn’t exactly like you guys have a good rotation to begin with.
WAY TO GO DONUT MAN!!!
If I’m the A’s, I save the money. The team is headed for a move, whether it be to San Jose or wherever. Pick up some pieces here and there, and Colon is not a bad addition to fill out the roster. But to shell out the money for guys like Oswalt right now isn’t a good idea. The A’s were last in average attendance last season and they’ve been last or next to last the previous 2 seasons.
Even though the A’s arent going anywhere in 2012 this is a good sign because somebody has to eat innings until peacock and parker arrive. And judging by his weight he should excel at that.
I’d be surprised if he is holding a spot down for Parker. If the A’s are comfortable with Parker getting MLB service time already, then there’s very little reason not to have him in the rotation come opening day. He’s already MLB ready. It’s not even a big stretch to expect that he could start off as the team’s #3 right out the gate.
It becomes a matter of how much more seasoned do the A’s want him to get and how soon do they want him to hit arbitration. They need to lock up their new talent pool for as long as they can in order to have a solid base to build from when they move.
I agree with your first paragraph.
Say if Parker’s on the opening day roster and stays there, he’s the A’s property until 2017. That’s six very long and hopefully, fruitful years.
I would agree so long as by 2014 the A’s are finally spending money again. Even if Parker only pitches to “average performance” for his talent, he’s going to be expensive by A’s current standards come his arbitration years. It’s those arbitration years I would think they are trying to push back by one.
If he’s in the Opening day rotation I would still expect McCarthy to be #1. But unless Braden remains healthy and can keep his head on straight, Parker could pretty quickly snag the ranking of #2 quality pitcher in the rotation.
I’m assuming we won’t be in Oakland in 2014/2015, so we’ll be certain to begin spending money even before then to get ourselves up to speed in our new stadium (how crazy does that sound?).
By then I think we will have gotten over the mentality of saving money at all cost rather than getting the best available talent to meet our future needs.
I don’t usually deal in dreams, but once in a while …..
Mccarthy
Colon
Braden
Moscoso
Outman
Ross
Milone
Godfrey
Some injury risk, but not a terrible rotation options to buy some time for Anderson’s mid season return and let Parker, Peacock, Gray get more time in minors.
A’s should consider mccarthy’s trade value lowest FIP in AL in 2011, pretty cheap 1 yr deal, could be a decent target for teams
Outman might get another shot, but I would be surprised to see Ross in the mix for a rotation spot come ST. He’s still got potential up-side, but he hit a wall last year. I wouldn’t be surprised if they re-tool him as a reliever or flip him along with Colon or someone else when trading for other prospects.
McCarthy will be an interesting target come the deadline if he performs in 2012 like he did in 2011. It wouldn’t shock me terribly if at least 3 of the names on that list are all gone by the deadline.
I’m surprised Moscoso is not in demand. At 28, he’s still young and his 3.38 ERA was very very good for a guy who started as an emergency starter and stayed all year. Maybe this year.
I think he will be in demand. I also suspect that he will be the “hardest” to pry away from the A’s come the trade deadline unless Braden just blows up and turns into a dominant pitcher.
I expect that unless there are more trades or signings that the rotation on opening day will look something like:
McCarthy
Braden
Moscoso
Colon
Peacock/Outman
I’m not convinced the club has given up on Outman yet. I suspect he would be gone already if he wasn’t being considered a viable candidate.
I hope so, as that would mean he’s doing well for the A’s. Moscoso also has hidden value, as he’s never been on the DL.
Trading Breslow means we no longer have a bridge to the closer, whoever it may be. So Outman has a slot to fill too.
Frankly I don’t see McCarthy as a number one pitcher, always facing the opponents ‘Ace’. Same for Moscoso. Braden is coming off a lost season so that leaves only Colon as an experienced leadoff pitcher. Who knows? Maybe he can pull it off. For a while, perhaps?
I see Outman as the lefty reliever until he can prove himself.
I wouldn’t want McCarthy or Moscoso as my long-term ace vs ace guy either. But with the current rotation, McCarthy is probably the best bet.
Moscoso is a bit of a wild card, I think he’s likely to nail down that solid #2 starter slot. There’s no reason to believe he won’t come exactly as advertised by his performance last season.
Braden just needs to prove he can bounce back and not worry about anything else. He certainly does not have the mentality to go against other aces with any regularity.
Colon has the advantage of having been an ace before. But if he pitches well he’ll be gone by the end of May. If he doesn’t, then he’s not the type you want going up against the Weavers and Wilsons and Hernandezes of the AL West.
One more low cost vet to add to Colon would add a lot of insurance. A’s prospects need to get experience. But a rotation potentially filled with prospects is scary, and can be decimating to a prospect’s confidence.
McCarthy and Colon are almost as good as gone already. Braden likely isn’t going anywhere, but if he has a good bounce-back year, he could still get inquiries. Moscoso will almost certainly be in demand, but he and Parker need to be put on the “near-to-untouchable” list.
I’m not saying throw all the prospects out there now, but at least Parker on the Opening Day roster. Maybe Milone if he proves himself during ST.
I can’t see getting another starter unless he’s willing to accept a minor league contract as a backup. We have enough starters in-house now.
Having McCarthy and Moscoso 1-2 in the rotation means having more losses than wins facing the best on other teams. I’d rather see Colon (now that he’s signed) go no 1 and Braden no 2 (if healthy), with Mc and Moscoso following, and then Parker.
What scares me the most of not having Bailey closing. Now having a mediocre closer is sure to destroy most morale than anything else.
So, who closes?
You know your rotation is bad when McCarthy and Moscoso are at the front end of your rotation. They couldn’t even crack the Rangers rotation for long periods of time back before our rotation was any good.
If McCarthy can stay healthy he will be the A’s lone all star representitive and best trade bait in 2012. I know he missed some time but when healthy he would always go 7 or 8 innings and was the A’s most consistant pitcher. I dont think last year was a fluke for him
Although I tend to agree with you on McCarthy, lets not get carried away. He’s only 29-33 lifetime and his 2011 record for the A’s of 9-9 is his best year, so it’s not like he’s a reliable winner. 2011 was by far his best year after not pitching in 2010, so now he’s got to go out and prove it’s not a fluke.
I hope not too.
Insert comment here about W/L record being a terrible way to evaluate pitchers
Listing Godfrey is really pushing it, don’t you think?
pushing what lol..godfrey is mlb ready, had a good AAA season, 8th on the sp depth chart. he could be a serviceable back rotation, fill in type
Moneyball is all about valuing the undervalued. This off-season, teams are undervaluing obesity.
Make that beer belly.
…and mediocrity.
AL Cy Young -Bartolo Colon-
Good signing
Thanks Bart ……. you gave us everything you had in the tank last year. You’ll be missed.
Oswalt would’ve been nice, but ummm… ok. Its Colon time I guess
Moscoso’s on the Rockies, unless there is some intricate trade-back happening that I’m not aware of.
Edit: Just realized this is an updated old article :P