All Bartolo Colon wants for Christmas …

By On December 25, 2011 · 10 Comments · In Player Analysis

You'd be upset too if you performed well but lost your job anyway.

Slowly but surely much of the Yankee fan base and blogosphere is realizing that the Yankees will probably not make a splashy move this offseason, something I’d believed was likely for some time now. The reasons for this are both clear and sound. The Yankees really only need starting pitching. and Yu Darvish were the best pitchers available and they are not guaranteed to succeed over the course of a five year contract. Given the Yankees’ considerable financial commitments already on the field any additional contracts need to be well reasoned. Failing that, it makes a lot of sense for the Bombers to bide their time.

But that doesn’t mean the Yankees can’t continue to add high upside, low cost veterans as they have over the past few seasons with considerable success. Freddy Garcia has benefited from this already. As we all know the Yankees signed Garcia to a one year deal last year and he gave the Bombers 145.2 innings of 3.58/4.12/4.34 ERA/FIP/xFIP baseball. That justifiably earned him another shot with the Yankees. Even if he can’t repeat his 2011 performance Garcia comes at such a low cost that he’s worth the risk.

If the Yankees are willing to dish out another contract to the slow-tossing Garcia, what does have to do to get some love? Colon was the other veteran addition the Yankees made last season. Originally he was meant to come out of the bullpen, but when went down in flames Colon got his chance to start. And he excelled. Colon never gave the Yankees a FIP above 3.84 in any month until August, after he came back from injury.

There were some warts on Bart’s season, to be sure. He went down for a period with a hamstring injury, and wasn’t as dominant in his return as he was before the injury. But none of this changes the fact that if Garcia’s surprisingly strong season earned him another year in pinstripes then certainly Colon should get another audition as well. Fact of the matter is that Colon was better than Garcia. He gave the Yankees 153.0 innings of 4.00/3.91/3.64 baseball. In addition, his plus fastball and ability to warm up quickly make him an ideal option out of the bullpen if younger, more upside options such as and Phil Hughes pitch to their potential.

Yankee fans (myself included) have come to expect the team to make splashy moves every offseason, for better or worse. That time may be over. The new collective bargaining agreement punishes teams for spending the way the Yankees did. An era in which the team begins working off many of the bad contracts it has handed out the last few seasons may be fast approaching. In that environment it only makes sense to dole out mega-bucks for players who will earn it, type successes as opposed to style flops. All of that explains why the Yankees have been on the side lines this winter. But in that environment it shines a bigger spotlight on low cost, quick upside players such as Colon. If Garcia was good enough to get another year on the team then certainly Bartolo was good enough as well.

Happy holidays everyone.

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10 Responses to All Bartolo Colon wants for Christmas …

  1. roadrider says:
    December 25, 2011 at 4:32 pm

    I wasn’t too excited about Garcia being brought back and there’s even less of a case for Colon. The Yankees got very lucky with both guys on cheap deals last year. Now both guys are a year older (Colon is 39 IIRC) and even less likely to be worth the roster spot given their ages and medical histories. These guys are not going to improve and there’s a good chance they won’t even be as good as they were in 2011. It’s time to for the Yankees to quit while their ahead with Bart (since the didn’t with Freddy). I’m not pushing for some splashy, big-name acquisition for the role you envision for Colon. I just have trouble believing that there isn’t a better, younger solution that’s either in the Yankee system now or that can be acquired cheaply.

    Reply
    • Mike Jaggers-Radolf says:
      December 25, 2011 at 6:11 pm

      I don’t believe that Colon will be an All Star, but for $1 million dollars there’s no harm in giving him another chance. At that cost, he won’t be blocking a younger internal option if such a player becomes available.

      Reply
  2. UYF1950 says:
    December 25, 2011 at 6:51 pm

    Even if the Yankees were to make Colon an offer of $1MM why would Colon accept that? After incentives last year he earned about $2.75MM.

    Reply
    • Mike Jaggers-Radolf says:
      December 25, 2011 at 8:00 pm

      The specific figure wasn’t my point. My point is that Colon will be affordable and available for a year. There isn’t much of a market for his services, but he did a great job for a while last season. There is no risk to extending him another contract. At a minimum it gives the Yankees depth in a rotation that will potentially be the team’s biggest weakness. (I’m aware that we all said that last year and the rotation was a strength for the team.)

      Reply
      • UYF1950 says:
        December 26, 2011 at 4:39 am

        Aren’t circumstances different this upcoming season with the Yankees and rotation depth at the back of the rotation?

        Last season the Yankees went into spring training with only 3 starters (CC, Hughes and AJ) and no one to fill the back of the rotation at all that’s why both Garcia and Colon were signed to minor league deals and ultimately brought north with the team.

        This year the Yankees go into spring training with 5 starters (CC, Nova, AJ, Hughes and Garcia) and waiting in the wings Noesi and possible Phelps, DJ Mitchell and Adam Warren). All of these 4 from Noesi on have been stretched out and pitched at least 150 innings or more between Triple A and or winter ball.

        What the Yankees need is a solid #2 not a starter for the “back end” of the rotation as insurance.

        I just don’t see the need for the Yankees to sign Colon and have to guarantee him a roster spot regardless if it’s at $1MM or $3MM. Why not give one of the younger guys a shot if “insurance” is needed?

        Reply
        • Mike Jaggers-Radolf says:
          December 26, 2011 at 10:14 am

          The team pretty much needs to make zero commitment to Bart. It could literally give him a take it or leave it chance. It doesn’t seem like there are other teams lining up to sign him.

          True, the Yankees need a solid number 2 to compliment CC, but that pitcher isn’t available, and wasn’t available as far as the team appears to be concerned. In light of that, the all hands on deck mentality from last season remains in effect. Adding Bart to the mix will not prevent some of the younger guys from getting a shot. The logic behind picking him up is, literally, that he can be released just as quickly if better options emerge.

          Reply
  3. suzanne&johns love child says:
    December 26, 2011 at 8:18 am

    couldn’t agree more with your assessment. for half the season this guy pitched like the number 2 that we are all clamoring for. I would sign up right now for half a season of the production he gave us in the first half of 2011. the odds of him repeating that are slim, but are they any slimmer than the chances of freddy repeating his production from 2011?

    Reply
    • Mike Jaggers-Radolf says:
      December 26, 2011 at 10:15 am

      Obviously I agree. If the Yankees are willing to give Freddy one more shot they should also give a shot to Colon, perhaps specifically as his backup. CC is the only sure thing. After him, Nova seems very likely to pitch for the entire season but we don’t know. After that, none of Hughes, Burnett, Garcia or Noesi is a known quantity.

      Reply
  4. prdentist says:
    December 26, 2011 at 9:40 am

    I believe that Bart wants to be a starter and will not accept a bullpen gig. I also believe that there is much more at stake here than just the pitching. I have read many comments about Freddy being a great addition to the clubhoouse and that he fits in with the yankees and that he really enjoyed his time with the team. I haven’t read anything like that about Bart, so there may be off the field issues or clubhouse issues which we may not be aware of.

    Reply

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