Former Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon signed a minor-league deal with the Minnesota Twins Friday.
But that wasn’t the only option the 44-year-old pitcher known as ‘Big Sexy’ had.
The New York Mets say they wanted a reunion with Colon, but he picked the Twins’ offer instead.
The right-hander was a fan favorite in New York as a rotation mainstay from 2014-16.
"We made a strong effort to re-sign Bartolo," Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said in a statement. "But he decided to go elsewhere."
Colon was released by the Braves at the end of June after he went 2-8 with an 8.14 ERA in 13 starts after signing a one-year, $12.5 million free-agent contract in November.
If he makes it to the majors, the Twins will be Colon’s 10th major league team over a 20-year career.
"You know he's been around a long time if I've faced him," Twins manager Paul Molitor joked, adding he vaguely remembers getting a hit off Colon in his final game in 1998.
The Twins say Colon will report to Triple-A Rochester soon. Molitor said Colon could potentially pitch the Red Wings' first game after the All-Star break next Thursday.
"He's been down a little bit, hasn't pitched against live hitters, so we just want to make sure he gets back and everything looks right," Twins executive vice president and chief baseball officer Derek Falvey said of plans to bring Colon to the majors.
One of the AL's surprise teams this season, Minnesota has had a shaky rotation outside of Ervin Santana (10-6) and Jose Berrios (8-2).
"Certainly with some of our needs at the back of the rotation and otherwise, we felt like, 'Let's get him in, get him in on a minor league deal, get a chance for him to pitch down in Rochester and we'll see from there,'" Falvey said.
Colon began his career with Cleveland in 1997 and won the AL Cy Young Award with the Angels in 2005. He is a four-time All-Star, most recently with the Mets last year, when he won 15 games with a 3.43 ERA. He has 235 wins in the majors.
"We felt like the stuff was similar to where it had been so this was a good opportunity for us to add a guy who's been really successful over the last couple of seasons, who's had a little bit of a tough start to the year," Falvey said.
The Braves hoped Colon could hold a rotation spot this year while the team waited for young pitching prospects to develop.
“It’s unfortunate for him and for us,” Braves general manager John Coppolella said after Colon was designated for assignment. “Not sure anybody took it harder than he did when he wasn’t performing. Seems like he felt he owed it to our fans and the Braves to try to have a good season. We wish him the best going forward. He’s a great teammate and a great person. Whatever happens, he’s had a great career.”
And it appears it isn’t over.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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