MLB Rumors: New York Mets pushing to trade Bartolo Colon?
By Hayden Kane
The New York Mets have a wealth of young starting pitching for the 2015 season and beyond. They also have at least one more year of team control for steady veteran Bartolo Colon. That raises an interesting decision, then, as far as what to do with Colon next season.
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It seems that the team’s inclination, generally speaking, has been to look to trade the 41-year-old righty. There is an argument to be made that the Mets would benefit from keeping Colon as a leader for an otherwise young rotation, but the benefits of clearing the way for a top prospect seem to trump.
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com writes that the Mets put Colon on waivers to potentially start the process of trading him to a contender between now and September 1st. As for the reasoning behind that decision, DiComo writes the following:
"Now all but out of contention in 2014, the Mets are staring at a 2015 rotation that could include Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jon Niese, Jacob deGrom and Dillon Gee, with Noah Syndergaard and Rafael Montero both eager to assume their own places within that hierarchy. While Colon would make that group stronger, giving the Mets a measure of starting pitching depth that few teams possess, his presence is not necessary."
DiComo then notes the Angels, Dodgers, Athletics, and Pirates as possible destinations for Colon.
In 25 starts this season, Colon is 12-10 with a 3.82 ERA. He has eaten 167.1 innings thus far, and would surely continue with that contribution for a playoff team if he was dealt.
The Mets are the envy of so many teams because they have legitimate pitching depth. Now they just have to navigate their options to see if Colon will be part of that depth or not in 2015.