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Mariners Trade-a-Day Series: The Big Sexy
By Tyler Wicke
Bartolo Colon has been a popular name in baseball for decades. In 21 seasons in the league, he has played for 11 teams. Could we see him in a Mariners uniform?
Five years ago, Mariner fans would have never thought that one of the best pitchers in Seattle history, Felix Hernandez, would be the worst-performing pitcher in the five-man rotation. Paxton has taken over as the ace. Marco Gonzales has been brilliant this year. And starters like Mike Leake and Wade Leblanc have over-achieved in their roles at the bottom of the rotation.
Many Mariner fans want to replace Felix, or at least give him more time in between starts as he continues to put Seattle in tough positions to win games. He currently has more runs and earned-runs than any pitcher in Major League Baseball this season. The reality is that he has plummeted from his prime form. Simply put, GM Jerry Dipoto has a tough decision ahead of him as to whether he will continue to pitch Felix every five days.
One name continues to shine in the baseball world: Bartolo Colon. The veteran recently just turned 45 and is the oldest current player in baseball, but still carries an ERA of 4.16 compared to Felix’s 5.70. However, some of his outings this season have been stellar, including his 7.2 inning effort at Safeco Field, where Seattle mustered only 4 hits and 0 runs with Colon on the mound.
Colon’s Major League debut was an astounding 21 years ago. To put his career in perspective, he pitched for the Montreal Expos and made two starts in the Kingdome.
A big upside for the Mariners could be Bartolo Colon’s success at Safeco Field: he is an astonishing 14-1 over his long career in the Mariner’s ballpark.
To complete a trade that would bring Bartolo to Seattle’s dugout, Dipoto may have to trade away an AAA-Tacoma prospect in pitcher Christian Bergman. Bergman has made one start in the majors this season, but it was a gem. Ironically, he dueled Bartolo Colon at Safeco Field and threw seven shutout innings against the Texas Rangers.
However, is it worth trading away a potential star? Bergman has shown flashes of excellence in Tacoma with a 4-4 record and a respectable 3.82 ERA. While Bartolo may help Seattle make a postseason push this year, it is unknown how Bergman will perform in the future. Felix may also end his slump and help the Mariners win, making the trade for Bartolo unnecessary.
Next: Mariners Trade a Day: Josh Harrison
As for now, the sad-but-true reality for the Mariners is that Felix seems to be the only pitcher that loses games as Seattle now owns a 42-24 record and leads the American League West. Jerry Dipoto will have to make an important decision this season: do we trust our veteran Felix, or do we bring in the Big Sexy?