Bartolo Colon Signs With Red Sox
TUESDAY: The Boston Herald has the contract details. Colon gets $1.25MM if he’s in the bigs, and the deal can reach $7MM if he makes 30 starts.
SUNDAY: According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, the Red Sox have signed starter Bartolo Colon to a minor league deal. The deal has no guaranteed money. That’s a far cry from the guaranteed two-year big league deal Colon wanted at the beginning of the offseason.
Colon will add depth to Boston’s rotation, and you certainly have to like the move for the Red Sox. Maybe Colon was motivated by a chance to win or a good medical staff, because Boston seems a poor place to find innings if he’s mediocre or worse.
Cards Eyeing Weaver, Colon
With the price of free agent starting pitching dropping by the day and Matt Clement looking questionable, it’s only natural that the Cardinals would explore the market. Indeed, John Mozeliak is looking at Jeff Weaver and Bartolo Colon. Seems that Impacto Deportivo may have been misinformed on the whole Colon-to-Chicago thing.
Weaver seems the smarter option for a team looking for healthy innings. If nothing else, Weaver can provide that. Something tells me he’s not getting $8MM this time around. His most recent success was in St. Louis, so maybe Dave Duncan can guide him to a league average season.
Colon is a wild card. Even if his stuff isn’t there, if he can take the ball he has value. He’ll obviously find the NL more to his liking.
Another possibility for the Cards is David Wells, according to Peter Gammons. Gammons says Boomer "would like to come back for 20-something starts."
No White Sox Agreement With Colon
THURSDAY, 9:21am: Rather than categorically deny the Colon rumor, Sox GM Kenny Williams gave a more cryptic response. Scot Gregor makes a good point that Colon had been rumored to prefer the National League.
WEDNESDAY, 10:41am:Ozzie Guillen says the Sox haven’t met with Colon’s people for weeks, according to Mark Gonzales. So maybe this rumor is dead.
TUESDAY, 10:03pm:Impacto Deportivo indicates tonight that the White Sox reached an agreement with starter Bartolo Colon, pending a physical. We’ll have to see whether his shoulder passes the test. Impacto Deportivo has a good track record but often jumps the gun, so we may see some semi-rebuttals from the Sox.
Assuming Colon still has something in the tank, I like the move. It has to be a one-year contract. This is the kind of gamble the Sox need to pan out if they’re to sniff the Wild Card. If the big righty is able to take the mound, John Danks and Gavin Floyd would presumably battle for the fifth starter job. However, Floyd is out of options so he could become the long man if Danks wins.
The White Sox acquired Colon for the ’03 season; he posted a 3.87 ERA in 242 innings that year.
Cards Eyeing Weaver, Colon
With the price of free agent starting pitching dropping by the day and Matt Clement looking questionable, it’s only natural that the Cardinals would explore the market. Indeed, John Mozeliak is looking at Jeff Weaver and Bartolo Colon. Seems that Impacto Deportivo may have been misinformed on the whole Colon-to-Chicago thing.
Weaver seems the smarter option for a team looking for healthy innings. If nothing else, Weaver can provide that. Something tells me he’s not getting $8MM this time around. His most recent success was in St. Louis, so maybe Dave Duncan can guide him to a league average season.
Colon is a wild card. Even if his stuff isn’t there, if he can take the ball he has value. He’ll obviously find the NL more to his liking.
Another possibility for the Cards is David Wells, according to Peter Gammons. Gammons says Boomer "would like to come back for 20-something starts."
Astros Interested In Bartolo Colon
According to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes, the Astros will have two scouts watching Bartolo Colon pitch Wednesday in the Dominican Republic. Astros GM Ed Wade said he’s not at the point of talking contract yet, which makes sense. A factor determining Wade’s budget will be the arbitration hearings of Mark Loretta and Jose Valverde.
Colon indicated a preference to pitch in the National League, and expects to sign next week.
Odds and Ends: Colon, Koskie, Atkins
We take a break from your regularly scheduled Erik Bedard drama to bring you some random links.
- The White Sox made an incentive-laden offer to Bartolo Colon, but Colon apparently physically disappeared at the thought of it. There’s a joke here, somewhere. Kenny Williams also almost kind of hinted at implying that he made some kind of effort to acquire Bedard.
- A brief note from the Sun-Times – outfielder Brian Anderson may be traded to an NL team (Marlins?).
- It’s possible that Corey Koskie makes another comeback attempt. He’s gone through a postconcussion syndrome nightmare.
- The Denver Post’s Troy Renck is always going over to Rockies players’ houses and chilling in their living rooms. This time, it was Garrett Atkins. Atkins says the Rox made a multiyear offer to him a year ago more similar to Jeff Francis‘ (4/13.25) than that of Aaron Cook (3/30) or Troy Tulowitzki (6/31). That offer was to cover Atkins’ three arbitration years and have a club option for his first of free agency.
- I recently did a Q&A with Science Fiction Baseball.
- Website note: I am leaning toward doing a full redesign. New logo, widen this baby, brighten her up, increase the font size, and yes, do away with the white on black type. Lots of room for improvement with this clunky old design, we all know it.
Odds and Ends: Cano, Colon, Lowry
Here are some links I’ve rounded up this morning.
- In theory, Robinson Cano would be open to a long-term deal. River Ave. Blues recently took a look at how historically good Cano has been so far, and suggest the Yankees lowballed him with their arbitration submission.
- Baseball Prospectus’ Derek Jacques saw Bartolo Colon pitch in the Dominican League Finals, and lends his evaluation. Colon was not impressive, but not terrible. It doesn’t seem like he will get the two-year deal he wants.
- The Brewers will bring Abraham Nunez to camp. Versatile, but a drain on offense.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune notes that the White Sox aren’t done yet. The Joe Crede situation should linger into spring. Gonzales also mentions that the Giants are "listening to offers for Noah Lowry."
- A factual look at whether Omar Minaya really stockpiles Latin American players.
- The Astros can’t settle their gaps with Mark Loretta or Jose Valverde, and Ed Wade expects the team to go to its first arbitration hearings in over a decade. Wade has set a deadline of this afternoon and will go to hearings otherwise. Loretta asking for $4.9MM seems particularly off.
- Matthew Cerrone takes an educated guess on the current Johan Santana situation.
- Some interesting quotes from XM Radio from Michael Cuddyer and Scott Boras, separately.
Odds and Ends: Hinske, Doumit, Colon, Greene
It’s up to an impressive 5.7 degrees where I am, but I still don’t think I’ll be going outside much today. Hence, some odds and ends.
- Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald believes Eric Hinske might sign with the Diamondbacks this week. The 30 year-old former ROY has a career line of .255/.336/.434, with much better work against righties.
- John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus says the Red Sox are interested in the Pirates’ Ryan Doumit. However Perrotto says the Bucs are reluctant to trade the versatile Doumit, who turns 27 in April. Only past Doumit rumor I can find was from Will Carroll in May of ’06, saying he and Oliver Perez were being dangled to the Phillies.
- Perrotto believes the Royals could sign Bartolo Colon if he’ll take a one-year deal; that may be true for several clubs. Paul Hoynes reports that the Indians watched Colon pitch, but weren’t impressed with his sub-90 velocity. Hoynes says Kris Benson will have another throwing session and the Tribe will be in attendance.
- According to Marc Topkin, the Rays are talking with lefty reliever Trever Miller. The two sides haven’t agreed on the term yet.
- Padres GM Kevin Towers commented about the team’s rejected long-term overtures toward shortstop Khalil Greene. Towers brought a three or four year proposal to Greene but does not expect anything to get done. He stated Greene’s possible desire to be on the East Coast as a factor.
- Vince Gennaro does an economic analysis of the Johan Santana rumors, indicating that the acquisition makes the most sense for the Mets.
Odds and Ends: Colon, Byrd, Sosa, Wilkerson
Some random links and whatnot for Saturday…
- Joe Cowley says the White Sox have backed off on Bartolo Colon because he wants a two-year deal. He believes the Royals are the frontrunner.
- Rangers guru Jamey Newberg doesn’t think Marlon Byrd would be enough to get Matt Murton from the Cubs.
- The Rangers might’ve entertained Sammy Sosa in a limited role, but he’s looking for 400-500 plate appearances. Good luck with that!
- Heard an unconfirmed whisper that the Red Sox may have some interest in Brad Wilkerson.
- RotoAuthority takes a fantasy baseball look at Yovani Gallardo and Tim Lincecum.
Odds and Ends: Hendrickson, Soria, Sherrill
Here’s today’s random collection of links.
- The Marlins signed Mark Hendrickson as the veteran leadership guy for ’08, at a cost of $1.5MM. He was knocked around in 15 starts for the Dodgers in ’07 but was solid in the pen. The Marlins will put him in the rotation, perhaps to tutor fellow southpaws Andrew Miller and Scott Olsen.
- Craig Brown would like to see the Royals use Joakim Soria as a starter.
- There is a theory that the Mariners’ signing of Arthur Rhodes will allow them to trade George Sherrill in an Erik Bedard deal. Seems a half-baked theory, wherever it originated. I don’t think Sherrill is holding this deal up.
- An argument for the Nate Robertson extension from Danny Knobler, and one against from J.C. Bradbury. Also, Peter Abraham thinks Chien Ming-Wang‘s agent will use Robertson as a comparable.
- The White Sox are still considering Bartolo Colon, according to ESPN Radio’s Bruce Levine.
- Pat Burrell would love to re-sign with the Phillies after this season. Pat, by the way, doesn’t have a computer and owes his second half success to "more hits."
- Phil Hughes has a computer, and even a new blog. Not much going on over there yet though.