Trade Profiles: Bartolo Colon

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Sometimes I hate the Pirates fan base.  Yesterday I saw a tweet from Danny Knobler of ESPN New York that stated the Mets were really trying to move Bartolo Colon.  I suggested that the Pirates should go after him and my responses lit up.  I got fat jokes and just plain "NO!"  But really, Bartolo may be the best option for the Pirates to fix their rotation problems.

Heard Mets trying hard to move Bartolo Colon, which isn’t exactly a surprise. Also no surprise: Dodgers trying hard to move Kemp.
— Danny Knobler (@DannyKnobler) July 22, 2014

Look, Bartolo may not look like a prime pitcher to trade for but the guy has stats you can't ignore.  He has a record of 8-8 ERA 4.12 with a K/9 of 6.75 and a BB/9 of 1.28.  Colon's FIP is 3.57 and his xFIP is 3.72.  So he's going to get even better.  Things I especially like about Bartolo is that that is his highest K/9 rate since 2007 and those are his best advanced metrics since 2011.  He is having himself a career year even if he looks worse than he did with the A's last year.

Colon is a fantastic buy low candidate here.  With those stats and the fact that the Mets are "trying hard" to get rid of him should make this a great trade chance.  You could pick this guy up for next to nothing and insert him as the #3 guy in our rotation just like that.  It just seems like such a no brainer to me.  And with that in mind, I'll go over some of the bad things about Colon.

Colon is an old man I'll give you that.  He is 41 years old and that can come with regression and injuries but Bartolo has shown signs of neither.  Colon's contract is also an issue.  He is owed a prorated portion of $8 million this season and he also has a guaranteed second year next year at $11 million.  Now that second year will make the Pirates take pause, much like AJ Burnett's, but I have a solution.  Get the Mets to pay half of it.  If they are truly this desperate to dump Colon, they can pick up some salary and get a somewhat decent but not great prospect.  That way if he doesn't perform next year, the Pirates can DFA him without eating that huge salary, much like they did with Wandy this year.

Overall, I think the Pirates and Bartolo Colon are a match made in heaven.  We talked to Colon in the offseason.  We have had good dealings with the Mets recently.  We know each other's farm systems.  A deal can come together quickly.  I love the idea of Ian Kennedy first but if the price is too much, Bartolo is a great fallback plan.  He is fat, he is old, he only throws one pitch most of the time.  Those are not reasons to hate him unless he doesn't contribute.  Pirate fans need to open their eyes and see that Bartolo Colon is one of the best pitchers on the market and can be had for cheap.  It's a perfect match and I hope NH at least explores it.