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New York Mets Rumors: Bartolo Colon Not Retiring Soon?

By Kenneth Teape

Mar 12, 2016; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Bartolo Colon (40) throws in the fourth inning during a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2016; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Bartolo Colon (40) throws in the fourth inning during a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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New York Mets Rumors: Despite being 42-years old, it does not seem that Bartolo Colon is thinking about retirement any time soon.

New York Mets rumors continue to swirl as we are a week away Opening Day. There is plenty of chatter about which players may make the final 25-man roster and who will be cut. There are roster decisions to be made as well, as the Mets currently have 32 players in camp after releasing one and re-assigning four in the past couple of days. One of the players we know will be on the roster next week when things get going for real is right-handed pitcher Bartolo Colon.

What is uncertain is how many more seasons Colon will be on the active roster when Opening Day rolls around. Being 42-years old the question about how long Colon can remain pitching in the big leagues is a fair one to ask. But if you ask him, retirement will not be coming any time soon.

“For me, I am not worried about it,” said Colon, who looks ready for the regular season after throwing six scoreless innings against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday. “I take it year by year. We’ll see what happens for me. For Alex, I guess we’re going to see what happens with him between now and then.”

As long as Colon is healthy, it sounds as if he wants to pitch in the major leagues, and who could blame him. Despite looking the opposite of what many would picture a professional athlete looking like, Colon has been able to carve out a successful 18 year career that will continue with number 19 this summer. And he has made it work with very little outside of fastball that is not as fast as it used to be.

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“I was very happy, obviously I was happy I was throwing strikes,” Colon said. “I like to think I throw a lot of strikes, but there were a lot more today. And (strikes) with my changeup which is something I was really working on.” Having exquisite command of his fastball is what makes it such a strong pitch despite not having the velocity to blow people away. Colon will rarely hurt himself, and he trusts his teammates as he will allow opponents to put the ball in play more than his rotation mates that have the ability to blow the ball past anyone.

The Mets are hoping that Colon will carry the strong performances from the spring with him to the regular season, as he is set to begin the season in the starting rotation for the injured Zack Wheeler. Upon Wheeler’s return Colon could be moved to the bullpen, which just shows his professionalism as he does not matter what his role is as long as he can help the team win.

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Colon has had a solid first two seasons with the Mets, and enjoyed his time in Queens so much that he turned down more lucrative offers to return once again. The Mets are happy to have him back and are hoping that he can duplicate his success from recent seasons once again.

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