White Sox Sign Bartolo Colon
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Chicago White Sox have signed Bartolo Colon to a one-year contract.
Nice pickup by the ChiSox, who simply needed an extra guy to vie for a back-end rotation spot. They add Colon to the competition for the #5 slot and as insurance behind Jose Contreras, who is coming off an injury.
Personally, I would have liked to have seen the Mets bring in Colon, despite his physical similarity to Shamu. Despite his weight issues — which no doubt have contributed to his health issues — when he’s on the mound, he’s a tough competitor and knows how to win. In fact I would be happy if the Mets brought in four or five guys of Colon’s caliber to compete for the last two spots in the starting rotation. The more the merrier, and to me it’s better to take chances on pitchers who have succeeded in the past (Colon, Pedro Martinez, Freddy Garcia, etc.) than guys who have never been more than mediocre (i.e., Tim Redding). But hey, what do I know?
One good thing for the Mets about this signing: it likely means that Freddy Garcia is off Chicago’s radar. The question, of course, is whether the Mets will roll the dice on Garcia, or let yet another starting pitcher with postseason experience elude their grasp.
The rationale is simple: Colon has always been hefty, and always been extremely successful in spite of it. In fact there were years when he was the among the top 5 pitchers in all of MLB.
In contrast, Dennys Reyes has spent the bulk of his career as a second-rate LOOGY. In a 12-year MLB career, Reyes has had exactly two seasons in which he didn’t stink.
Further, there are at least a half-dozen LOOGYs available at the same rate who have similar or better credentials. On the other hand, there aren’t too many starting pitchers available with Colon’s experience and resume. I know it’s a big roll of the dice, but I’d rather take a gamble on the best that Colon can give than the best that Reyes can.
Finally, at the present moment, the Mets have exactly four MLB starting pitchers — one of whom who is mediocre, and two others coming off surgery. They need starters, any starters, and at least two or three of them. As for a LOOGY, they already have one — Pedro Feliciano — and while another one would be nice, it isn’t nearly as necessary as finding more arms for rotation spots.
I’m not making an argument to sign Reyes over Colon, because I don’t like or want either. But I say if you want to take a chance on a starter with a nice resume but a spotty injury history, why not Tom Glavine, Kenny Rogers, Eric Milton, Curt Schilling, Kris Benson, Freddy Garcia, or the aforementioned El Duque? All would add the depth and credentials you desire without the spare tire. I’m not saying any of those would be any good, but if given the choice between them and the overweight Colon, I would have to rank Colon pretty close to last on my list.
You know exactly why the Mets can’t and won’t offer contracts to Kenny Rogers, Tom Glavine, and Kris Benson. Milton, to me, isn’t worth it because it feels like he’s been making a comeback for a decade and I don’t even remember him being that good.
But Schilling? Yes! Gacia? Yes! Sheets? Yes! Pedro? Yes! El Duque? Yes! ANYBODY!!!!! I’d rather take gambles on three or four of those guys, expect to eat at least two or three of the contracts, and hit the jackpot with one of them, then go to spring training with exactly 5 “safe” starters.
Is it any coincidence that the Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies, Cubs, Angels, and Rays consistently have 7, 8, or 10 starting pitchers fighting it out for 5 rotation spots every year?
My point is same as yours — the Mets need AT LEAST 5 healthy MLB-caliber starters, AND they should be taking on a few low-risk / high-reward candidates as well. But this inane system of waiting around to see if any of the cool boys will ask the Mets to dance is going to leave them without a prom date. Omar’s insistence that he has to do one thing before the other is 1. illogical and 2. a lie.
Why can’t the Mets pick up a Ben Sheets or Freddy Garcia now, and sign Ollie Perez or Jon Garland next week? They can rush to sign Alex Cora and Tim Redding — two guys who had little demand on the open market — but can’t do the same for someone with actual, real, tangible success in his history such as Garcia — or Pedro?
If anything, it makes MORE sense to sign a Garcia / Colon / Pedro / etc. FIRST, because at that point, the old vet thinks he’ll have a decent shot of making the rotation. If they wait until after all their slots are filled, someone like Garcia or Schilling or Sheets or whomever might say, “eh, they already have five guys set … I’ll I have a better chance to make Team X”.