The New York Mets have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with veteran right-hander Bartolo Colon, as according to a report from Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal on Wednesday afternoon.
It is said that the deal is worth a total of $7.25MM and is currently pending a physical at this time.
Initial reports regarding the agreement came from local news stations located in the Dominican Republic.
According to Ken, Colon is said to have had better offers on the table, however, he wanted to stay put in New York as he has a relationship with the organization and loves his fans and teammates.
As noted by Rotoworld.com, Colon, 42, believed signing a one-year deal was the best way to go about free agency this off-season as he believes that was the best offer he was going to receive from a major league ball club.
Colon joined the Mets back in 2013 when he signed a two-year, $20MM deal after showing what he has left in the tank while pitching for the Oakland Athletics.
In 2015, Colon pitched with an ERA of 4.16 ERA alongside a 14-13 record in a total of 33 games played, 31 of those in which he started.
Given the stuff in which he has provided in New York over the course of the past two seasons, he is fully capable of holding down a spot in the starting rotation in 2016 as he has proven to be one of the more valuable guys on the club's roster given the fact of which he is a veteran who offers that presence for youngsters both on and off the field.
As it stands right now, he will stand in as the replacement for 25 year old RHP Zack Wheeler who did not pitch last season due to Tommy John surgery which took place following the conclusion of spring training.
As for the starting five, it is likely to kick off with RHP Jacob deGrom with RHP's Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard behind him. In the five hole will likely be LHP Steven Matz.
Other possibilities if it is not Matz includes RHP's Rafael Montero and Logan Verrett.
The Associated Press spoke with a person on condition of anonymity who says that the deal has not yet been announced.
For his career, Colon holds a record of 218-154 in 18 major league seasons. He is a former Cy Young winner and three-time All-Star. He owns 218 wins across nearly 3,000 innings of work. His win total is the third highest in history among Dominican-born pitchers, behind only Juan Marichal (243) and Pedro Martinez (219).
Earlier in the week, the team agreed to a one-year deal with left-handed reliever Jerry Blevins.