Forty-four year old Bartolo Colon was designated for an assignment by the Atlanta Braves on Thursday. Baseball’s oldest player has over 20 years of experience under his belt and he’s the last active player who played for the Montreal Expos.
Colon has an ERA of 8.14 in 13 starts this season but he was an All-Star last year with the New York Mets and from 2012-2016 he was 72-49 with an ERA of 3.57 – not bad for a guy who was pitching in his 40s.
Does he fit in?
Currently the Twins have a vacancy in their rotation and they’ll need a starter by Saturday. Minnesota could also do a similar situation to what they recently did with Phil Hughes. Although Colon has only nine appearances as a reliever in his career.
A fresh start could do Colon wonders and his veteran presence could help out a relatively young rotation. He may be able to provide some wisdom to future ace Jose Berrios, who has turned a corner in 2017 after a disastrous rookie year.
How much would it cost?
Teams will have 48 hours to put in a claim for Colon before he elects to head to the minors or opt out to become a free agent.
If he accepts his assignment to the minors, then he’ll still be able to earn his one-year, $12 million dollar he signed in the offseason. If Atlanta is able to work out a trade, it’s likely the Braves would take on some of his salary.
If a trade doesn’t work out or he elects for free agency, teams could negotiate a new deal that probably wouldn’t be as expensive.
