Veteran pitcher Bartolo Colon agrees to $7.25M deal with Mets

NEW YORK – Bartolo Colon had such a good time this year, he decided to stay for a third season with the New York Mets.

The entertaining 42-year-old pitcher agreed to a $7.25 million, one-year contract to remain with the Mets, a person familiar with the negotiations said Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.

Mets manager Terry Collins said Tuesday he was in favor of keeping Colon.

“I know there’s talks with him going on,” Collins said. “We told him, ‘Look, there may be a starting spot for you early in the season.’ So I hope they can get something done.”

Colon was 14-13 with a 4.16 ERA in 31 starts and two relief appearances this year, then had a 2.08 ERA in seven relief appearances during the postseason. On Sept. 5 against Miami, he became the oldest Mets pitcher to throw a shutout and the oldest in the major leagues since Jamie Moyer in May 2010.

That same night, Colon made a nifty behind-the-back toss to first on Justin Bour’s grounder. In addition, he had eight hits at the plate this year – after entering with 12 in his previous 17 big league seasons.

Colon is 218-154 in the major leagues, including 29-26 with the Mets. The 2005 A.L. Cy Young Award winner figures to be the grand old man of New York’s rotation for the first half of the season, joining Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz until Zack Wheeler returns from Tommy John surgery.