Bartolo Colon, Rajai Davis To Play In Mexican League

Long-time MLB hurler Bartolo Colon is making a comeback … in the Mexican League. Per MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, via Twitter, Colon has signed on with the Acereros de Monclova, where he’ll join outfielder Rajai Davis.

It’ll certainly be an interesting campaign for Monclava residents, who’ll be treated to two recent big leaguers. Colon didn’t pitch in 2019 but has logged 21 seasons at the game’s highest level. And Davis has appeared in the bigs in each of the past 14 years.

Bartolo isn’t back just yet, but he’s now going to get a pretty good look from MLB scouts. The Mexican League has sent homegrown players to the majors and hosted former big leaguers before, so this is hardly a publicity stunt. Last year’s Aceros outfit was managed by Pat Listach and featured Chris Carter, Erick Aybar, Bruce Maxwell and others with MLB experience.

Now 46 years of age, Colon struggled in his two most recent MLB efforts. But he gave the Mets 191 2/3 frames of 3.43 ERA ball in 2016 — just three years ago, a mere blip in his seemingly perpetual career. It’s certainly not impossible to imagine that some club will give him a ring if he shows well in Mexico and there’s a need for innings.

Likewise, Davis is a clear candidate to head north at some point during the coming season. The 39-year-old still has elite foot speed and can cover plenty of ground in the outfield. He’s not likely to do much damage at the plate — over the past three seasons, he carries a .230/.285/.327 batting line — but could still be an interesting potential late-inning/postseason roster piece