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The Oakland Athletics "made a run" at signing Bartolo Colon, but won't reunite with the 42-year-old starting pitcher after he signed a one-year, $7.25 million contract to return to the New York Mets:
the a's are said to have made a run at bringing bartolo colon back. cant blame 'em. good pitcher (& also entertaining)
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 16, 2015
The first report of a deal with the Mets came from Yancen Pujols of ElCaribe.com, a publication based in the Dominican Republic. The report was confirmed by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Reports are coming in that other clubs (though not necessarily the A's) made better offers to Colon:
Per sources, Colon had better offers from other clubs, but wanted to stay with #Mets. Loves fans, teammates, organization.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 16, 2015
colon had a higher offer but enjoyed being a met. he brings experience, smarts to young staff (also levity)
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 16, 2015
Colon certainly fit the mold of what A's manager Bob Melvin called,
a veteran-type guy, and maybe not even a production guy. . . . It's more taking the pressure off some of the younger guys. I mean, you potentially could put a veteran guy in the ‘2' hole even though you might get more production out of your ‘3' and ‘4' guys. But it's just kind of taking a little bit of the pressure off.
I identified a few players that seem to be in that veteran second tier price range a few days ago:
| Contract |
2016
Age
|
2015 | 2013-15 | ||||||||||||
| G | GS | IP | Per 9 innings | ERA | FIP | WAR | IP | ERA | FIP | WAR | |||||
| K | BB | HR | |||||||||||||
| J.A. Happ | 3/$36 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 172.0 | 7.9 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 3.61 | 3.41 | 3.3 | 422.2 | 4.05 | 3.93 | 5.4 |
| Colby Lewis | 36 | 33 | 33 | 204.2 | 6.2 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 4.66 | 4.17 | 2.6 | 375.0 | 4.90 | 4.31 | 3.7 | |
| Bartolo Colon | 1/$7.5 | 43 | 33 | 31 | 194.2 | 6.3 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 4.16 | 3.84 | 2.5 | 587.1 | 3.65 | 3.55 | 9.2 |
| Scott Kazmir | 32 | 31 | 31 | 183.0 | 7.6 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 3.10 | 3.98 | 2.4 | 531.1 | 3.54 | 3.61 | 8.2 | |
| Mark Buehrle | Retiring? | 37 | 32 | 32 | 198.2 | 4.1 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 3.81 | 4.26 | 2.1 | 604.1 | 3.78 | 4.01 | 7.5 |
| Rich Hill | 1/$6 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 29.0 | 11.2 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 1.55 | 2.27 | 1.1 | 73.0 | 4.19 | 3.20 | 1.3 |
| Chris Young | 2/$11.5 | 37 | 34 | 18 | 123.1 | 6.1 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 3.06 | 4.52 | 0.9 | 288.1 | 3.40 | 4.80 | 1.0 |
It's hard to categorize whether Colon represented much more than additional certainty in the back of the rotation or if reliable additional innings was a major priority for the A's such that they would go to a second or even a third year with the right picher. With increasing hints that Jesse Hahn's elbow health remains a concern for the A's this deep into the offseason, another starter would be nice to have. The free agent options are becoming quite limited, however, beyond the very bottom of the bounceback candidate pool. Could a trade be coming, or will the A's stand pat?
Colon made 54 starts with a 2.99 ERA and a 28-15 record with the A's in 2012 and 2013. Colon did not participate in the 2012 postseason due to his 50-game suspension for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drugs rules. He started Game 1 of the 2013 ALDS where he threw six innings of 10-hit, three-run ball in a 3-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
