The New York Mets are stepping up their efforts to re-sign starting pitcher Bartolo Colon, according to Newsday.
This pursuit comes moments after the Mets traded away Jon Niese to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Neil Walker. There’s an opening in the rotation as Zack Wheeler returns from Tommy John surgery. Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz will be the young stars to get the ball every fifth day in New York. Colon would be the ultimate veteran presence for another season.
With Niese moved, I'm told the Mets have now stepped up their efforts to re-sign, wait for it, BARTOLO!
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) December 9, 2015
The 42-year-old posted a 4.16 ERA over 31 starts and two relief appearances in 2015. The right-hander pitched well down the final stretch of the season before making the move to the bullpen. In the postseason, he was quite effective when he allowed two runs in 8 2/3 innings in relief. He’s showed that he could now be used in multiple roles depending on what the Mets want to do with their starting rotation.