The Atlanta Braves designated former Cy Young winner Bartolo Colon for assignment on Thursday.
This may be the end of the line for “Big Sexy.” Now 44 years old, Bartolo Colon is having the worst season of his 19-year career. Currently sitting 9.5 games out of first place in the NL East, the Atlanta Braves are hardly a contender. Still, they felt they would be better off without Colon in their rotation. Following the announcement Thursday, left-hander Rex Brothers will be called up from AAA to take Colon’s place on the roster.
The #Braves today designated RHP Bartolo Colón for assignment and selected the contract of LHP Rex Brothers from Triple-A @GwinnettBraves.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 29, 2017
While this probably isn’t ideal for Big Sexy, it may be time to hang ’em up. Simply put, he’s just not getting it done on the mound anymore. Across 63 innings in 13 starts, Colon has registered an 8.14 ERA. He’s managed to be an effective pitcher over the last few years despite his fastball topping out at 91 mph, but it appears those days are over. He’s no longer hitting his spots on the edges of the strike zone, and his pitches don’t come in fast enough to fool anybody.
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Last season, Colon put together a record of 15-8 with a 3.43 ERA. His BAA was a reasonable .307, and he maintained a left-on-base rate of 76.6 percent. Right now, he’s got a .340 BAA and an absolutely horrific LOB rate of 48.2 percent. His velocity is the same as last year, but he’s just not locating his pitches anymore.
To give you an idea of how much difference a year has made, Colon’s sinker was the third most valuable of any starter in the game in 2016. This season with the Braves, he has the worst sinker in all of baseball among starting pitchers.
Where to go from here
So we know that Colon is done pitching for the Braves. Now we must ask ourselves, what happens next for Big Sexy? Is this the end of Bartolo Colon’s career? Maybe, but probably not. To this point, he hasn’t really given any indication that he plans to retire. This signing clearly didn’t go as planned for the Braves, who are still on the hook for the remainder of his $12.5 million salary this year, but Colon may have a team ready to pick him up. He spent the last three seasons pitching for the Mets, and they could sure use a veteran starter in that injury-riddled rotation. Just minutes after he was DFA’d by the Braves, analysts and fans were already speculating that Colon could return to New York.
The #Braves give up on Bartolo Colon and designate him for assignment. Would the #Mets be open to a reunion?
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 29, 2017
Mets have not ruled out the possibility of a reunion with Bartolo Colon once he clears waivers, but his 8 ERA obviously gives them pause.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) June 29, 2017
Next: Trade candidate: Phillies' Pat Neshek
For the sake of all that is fun and goofy about baseball, will someone please sign this guy?