The Texas Rangers are interested in veteran free agent pitcher Bartolo Colon according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Colon would likely push Alexi Ogando to the bullpen where he has been much more effective. In addition, it would give them more rotation depth if Matt Harrison is slow to recover from his recent back surgeries.
Colon, who will turn 41 early next season, turned in one of his best years in 2013. In 30 starts and 190.1 innings, Colon posted a career-best 2.65 ERA and a miniscule 3.8 percent walk rate. He made the all-star game and finished 6th in the CY Young voting.
After missing the entire 2010 season due to shoulder and elbow pain, Colon has enjoyed a late-career resurgence. From 2011-13, he has a 3.32 ERA. He’s walked just 4.4 percent of hitters while striking out 16.3 percent.
At this point in his career, Colon isn’t missing many bats. He has just a 5.6 percent swinging strike rate over the last two years, which is the lowest mark among qualified starters in that time frame. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, Colon throws his fastball over 85 percent of the time, easily the highest rate for major league starters.
The Ballpark at Arlington isn’t so kind to flyball pitchers. It’s one of the most home run-friendly parks in the major leagues. Also, with the trade of Craig Gentry, the Rangers don’t have the cadre of fleet outfielders to chase down flyballs that the Oakland Athletics do.
Factoring in park adjustments, Colon has been more of an average pitcher over the last two years than an elite one. As such, he can still help the Rangers, but I don’t think they will rely on him to be a top of the rotation arm, nor should they.
