Sandy Alderson bolsters his starting rotation with a surprising move.
The New York Mets and free agent starting pitcher Bartolo Colon have agreed to a two-year, $20 million contract, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports. Pending a physical, this will be Mets GM Sandy Alderson's third notable signing of the offseason.
After signing Curtis Granderson two a four-year, $60M contract last week, the Mets have been fairly quiet. While trade rumors have been swirling around infielders Daniel Murphy and Ike Davis, Alderson had yet to make a move since last Thursday.
With their ace in Matt Harvey undergoing Tommy John surgery earlier in the offseason, the Metropolitans are in need of pitching help. In 2013 with the Oakland Atheltics, Colon went 18-6 with a 2.65 ERA, 190.1 IP, 117 strikeouts and three shutouts. Even at age 41, Colon can be an effective veteran starter while bridging the gap for the Mets until Harvey gets healthy and their young pitching prospects blossom.
Colon also drew interest from the Athletics, Twins, Orioles, Rangers, Mariners and Indians before signing with the Mets. Oakland worked on re-signing him for the first couple of weeks of the offseason before settling on left-hander Scott Kazmir to fill out their rotation.
WFAN's Sweeney Murti was the first to report that a deal with Colon was in the works.
