On November 11th, Bartolo Colon signed with the Atlanta Braves. Mets fans lamented his departure after three years with the organization. And that’s fair, because there won’t be more moments like this:
Or this:
Colon was entertaining as a Met, and almost illogically, got better as he progressed through his forties. In 2014, at 41, Colon posted a 15-13 record, then in 2015 he went 14-13, and last year Colon was 15-8 with a 3.43 ERA.
However, at some point age will catch up with Colon. He will turn 44 during the 2017 season. Maybe he will have another great year- this time for the Braves. The odds of that go down though with each passing season.
And then there’s the financial side of the equation. The Braves gave Colon a staggering $12.5 million for 2017, a raise of more than $5 million from 2016. The Mets have other pressing needs for that money-namely signing Yoenis Cespedes.
Finally, in assessing the Colon situation, one has to look at the need the Mets have for his services. With Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, and Zack Wheeler expected to be healthy and join Noah Syndergaard in the rotation in 2017, the need for Colon is diminished. The emergence of Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo as spot starter options (at salaries at or near the major league minimum) exacerbate this point.
Bartolo Colon had a good run in Flushing. He will be fondly remembered for his unusual appearance, awkward moments at the plate, and jovial nature. However, taking emotion out of the picture and analyzing his departure purely from a baseball perspective, it seems fairly clear that letting him go was the right move, and one from which the Mets will easily move on.
Bartolo is gone, and so are some of the light-hearted moments that made watching the Mets even more fun. But we’ll survive. It was time to move on.
Get the FanSided App
More from Rising Apple
This article originally appeared on 
