FOX Sports: Braves sign Bartolo Colon
ATLANTA - The day after signing a 42-year-old pitcher, the Atlanta Braves apparently have signed an even older pitcher.
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports the Braves have agreed to a one year contract with 43-year-old Bartolo Colon, pending a physical.
Rosenthal reports the deal is worth $12.5 million, Colon’s highest salary since the 2007 season.
For the past three seasons, Colon has pitched for the Braves’ National League East rival, the New York Mets.
Colon posted a 3.90 ERA in 588 2/3 innings, striking out 415 batters and walking 86.
In 2016, Colon posted a 2.9 WAR over 33 starts, a mark that would ranks second among Braves pitchers behind only All-Star Julio Teheran.
The move comes the day after the Braves signed knuckleballer and former NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey.
The 42-year old had a career-high 20 wins in 2012 in his final season with the Mets when he won the Cy Young. The right-hander spent the last four years with the Blue Jays, going 10-15 with a 4.46 earned run average in 2016.
Analysts see the moves as a way for the Braves to use two veterans to eat up 2017 innings without blocking their up-and-coming young arms.