Report: New York Mets and Bartolo Colon agree on 2-year contract, pending physical

October 4, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Bartolo Colon (40) reacts after giving up a run during the first inning in game one of the American League divisional series playoff baseball game against the Detroit Tigers at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

From the outset of the MLB off-season, one of the more entertaining storylines centered around Bartolo Colon’s future employer, and it appears as if the big man has found a new home.

Sources: #Mets, Colon in agreement on two-year, $20M deal, pending physical.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 11, 2013

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports that Colon has agreed to a 2-year, $20 million deal with the New York Mets, and that is somewhat surprising. Colon, who is now 40 years old, was utterly fantastic for most of last season, posting a 2.65 ERA in over 190 innings, but his shear age makes it a risky, 2-year proposition for the Mets.

The price of pitching has skyrocketed on the open market, and that certainly contributes to Colon’s ability to get 2 years, but the Mets are also desperate for pitching in the wake of the Matt Harvey injury. Colon’s 2013 season was his best in over a decade, but he was also strong (at 39 years old) in 2012, when he came out of nowhere to throw 152 quality frames with Oakland.

I can’t imagine Colon actually “earning” this deal over 2 years of sustained success at this age, but if he can even approach a replication of his 2013 campaign (where he earned 3.9 WAR according to FanGraphs) in year one, it could be a bargain for the Mets.

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