Sox Fill Hole With Colon

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Jan 15, 2009 3:20PM

While we were happy to see Javier Vazquez and his inflated salary depart from the White Sox's starting rotation, we were concerned about the team's ability to round out its pitching staff in '09. GM Kenny Williams hopes he's plugged at least one of the holes with his latest move. Reports are that the Sox have reached a deal with former Cy Young winner Bartolo Colon. Having pitched for the Sox in 2003, this would mark Colon's second stint on the South Side.

This biggest question is: does Colon have anything left in the tank? The 35 year old has been sidelined with back injuries for much of the past three seasons, totaling less than 200 innings in that time after averaging well more than that workload annually for almost a decade. But before being bitten by the injury bug, he did win the 2005 AL Cy Young while with the Angels. He went 21-8 with a 3.48 ERA while helping them reach the ALCS -- where they lost to the White Sox.

Because the deal is heavily incentive-laden and only for one year, the Sox are minimizing their risk with the signing. Last time he played for the Sox, he was 15-13 with a 3.87 ERA in a career-high 242 innings pitched. We certainly don't expect him to match that kind of workload. But with Jose Contreras' return to form questionable, we fear a rotation of Mark Buehrle and four guys with no more than a couple years' experience could be asking for trouble. Perhaps Colon can remain healthy enough to provide some additional veteran leadership in the rotation.

Mark Duncan/AP