Alderson still mulling Colon's future with Mets
In September, veteran right-hander Bartolo Colon said he'd be "delighted" to come back to Queens in 2017 if the New York Mets were interested in re-signing him.
More than two months later, though, general manager Sandy Alderson still doesn't know if keeping the 43-year-old around is the best idea.
"You're asking me a lot of questions about Bartolo and I don't have the answers," Alderson told MLB.com's Barry M. Bloom on Wednesday.
"I've had a brief conversation with the agent, and my sense is that if you wait a week or 10 days or two weeks, we'll know a lot more about the pitching market and we'll know a lot more about our situation. Let's wait a couple of weeks and see where we are."
Despite opening the campaign in the bullpen, Colon - who re-upped with New York on a one-year, $7.25-million deal last winter - ended up logging more innings than every Mets pitcher in 2016 except Noah Syndergaard, spending virtually the entire year in the rotation amid rampant injuries to their other starters.
He ended the season crafting a 3.43 ERA (120 ERA+) over 191 2/3 innings, while also earning the fourth All-Star nomination of his 19-year career.
Still, despite his continued reliability - Colon has thrown at least 190 1/3 innings in each of the last four seasons, posting a 3.59 ERA (106 ERA+) with a 4.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio over that span - there may not be a spot for him in the Mets' 2017 rotation.
Assuming none of them suffer setbacks in their recovery from various surgeries, Jacob deGrom (ulnar nerve issue), Matt Harvey (thoracic outlet syndrome), Steven Matz (bone spurs in elbow), and Zack Wheeler (Tommy John surgery) will comprise the rest of New York's starting corps behind Syndergaard.
Though the Mets could potentially use Colon out of the bullpen, as they intended to do in 2016, Alderson suggested the portly veteran wouldn't be interested in a relief role, given that he sits 10 wins behind Juan Marichal for the most ever by a Dominican-born pitcher (243), and a dozen shy of Dennis Martinez's record for victories by a Latino (245).
"How many wins is he behind Marichal?" Alderson asked. "I think he's going to want to start. He's not going to get that many wins as a reliever."