Bartolo Colon designated for assignment by Braves

After a dreadful 13 starts, the Atlanta Braves have designated veteran right-handed pitcher Bartolo Colon for assignment. His time in Atlanta is done.

Say it isn’t so. Apparently it is so. It is the end of an era in Atlanta Braves baseball, as popular, but struggling right-handed pitcher Bartolo Colon has been designated for assignment after a terrible outing in San Diego on Wednesday night.

Colon was an ageless wonder, pitching well into his 40s at a high level mostly for the Oakland Athletics and the New York Mets. He signed a one-year deal with the Braves this offseason, but the old man success did not follow him to his new team.

Colon went 2-8 in 13 starts for the near-.500 Braves. He boasted a dreadful -2.3 WAR, an abysmal 8.14 ERA and a pitiful 1.778 WHIP in his half-season stint with the Braves. Frankly, Atlanta is slightly ahead of its lengthy rebuild, as the bats have come to life in the hitter-friendly SunTrust Park.

However, starting pitching has been atrocious for Atlanta this season. Outside of rookie newcomer Sean Newcomb, the Braves have not shown the promise from the rubber to be a realistic Wild Card contender this year.

Moving on from Colon is tough from a sentimental standpoint, but a necessary one from a baseball point of view. The Braves have left-handed pitcher Rex Brothers from AAA Gwinnett to fill Colon’s roster spot.

It’s tough to admit it, but this might be the end of Colon’s lengthy major league career. He first broke into the big leagues with the 1997 Cleveland Indians. Colon has pitched for nine teams, mostly with the Indians, Los Angeles Angels and the Mets.

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He was a four-time All-Star and the 2005 American League Cy Young winner with the Angels. Colon amassed 235 wins and 2,407 strikeouts with a 4.02 ERA in 20 big league seasons. You just don’t replace a beloved character like Colon, but that’s what the Braves are doing.