Why Does Nobody Want Bartolo Colon?

Credit to rantsports.com 

   I don’t know about you, but Bartolo Colon has value. Colon has shown value to the Mets as a solid back of the rotation starter who can eat innings, prevent runs efficiently in those innings and is affordable at $11 million for only a one year commitment. The problem with all of this is, it still seems that no team wants him. 










I find it a bit hard to believe due to the fact that the Mets could easily offer to eat $4 million, and essentially teams would have a great asset for only $7 million. Dan Haren was seen as a valuable asset by the Miami Marlins even though he was essentially the same pitcher as Colon. The first answer people would likely give is that it is the fact that Colon turns 42 in May. This would lead to speculation that he is creeping toward retirement. However, Dan Haren went as far as to mull retirement when he was traded to Miami because he preferred to pitch for a west coast team. Is it because of his low strikeout rate? His Strikeout percentage is 17.9% (2% less than the league average for starters), but considering he walked only 3.6% of batters he faced (ranked 3rd among starters), and had a K/BB ratio of 14.3%, one that ranked ahead of Dan Haren and Ervin Santana (who recently signed for 4 years and $52 million). To drive this point home further, Colon walks one batter per every five strikeouts. This rate of K/BB ranks 12th among all starters. It also should help Colons case that despite his ERA of 4.09 (which is good for a back end starter), he had a FIP of 3.57 and a SIERA of 3.75. Funny thing about Colon though is that from 2011 until 2014, he had a BABIP of .295, well below his 2014 mark of .307. It is pretty clear that even though Colon had a very solid 2014, his peripherals are pointing toward him having an even better 2015.
So it is pretty clear that the stats are on Colons side, and that any sort of concerns about him have been disproven. What seems to likely be the case could be that teams do not want to get burned on deals for Major Leaguers similar to the R.A Dickey trade, or how the Giants got burned on the Carlos Beltran trade. I truly believe Sandy Alderson has three options regarding Colon. 
Option #1. He can keep him on the roster come opening day, and be patient for Colon suitors come July.
This seems to be the most likely outcome because we know how the Mets are when it comes to making moves regarding the parent team. It is also the most likely because as the title of the article states, no team seems to want Bartolo Colon. Sandy Alderson may also want to simply wait until July for buyers to emerge. The problem with this though, is that Colon's trade value will only go down from opening day forward.
Option #2. Sandy Alderson can try and continue shopping Colon to teams.
For all we know, he can be doing this as I am typing. But if that’s the case, I don’t think he’s working hard enough. If the Brewers can find Yovani Gallardo suitors, it shouldn’t be too hard to find Colon suitors.
Option #3. Sandy Alderson can try and offer Colon at a discount to General Managers. 
At first glance, it seems like I should stop writing now for saying that. Trading Colon just for the sake of doing so is worse than not trading him at all. The thing is though, it has been noted how Sandy Alderson has always tried to not only be on the winning end of trades, but to essentially rip the other GM off. I think if Sandy trades Colon at a discount, it could help alleviate his reputation and start to get GM’s to be more open to trading with him again. 

To me, it is ridiculous that no team seems to want Colon. A Colon deal can still happen though. Perhaps the Angels may need a veteran at the back end of their rotation to lead Tyler Skaggs and Andrew Heaney. Maybe the White Sox are looking for a starter to patch up the question marks in their rotation behind Chris Sale and Jose Quintana. Maybe the Orioles have a need for an affordable mid rotation starter in their attempt to stay competitive in an open division. Either way, there is a spot for Colon on the majority of teams out there. If you show me a GM looking to keep his ball club competitive who would turn down a good and affordable mid to back of the rotation starter that could be had for a one year commitment, I would show you a GM who is in serious need of a job reevaluation. Bartolo Colon to me seems to be a player with a lot of value, but actually has no value at all.