The Athletics hold no ill will against Bartolo Colon.
Colon’s 2012 season ended prematurely –– and in the middle of the pennant race –– when he received a 50-game suspension for testing positive for testosterone. Despite the stain, Oakland skipper Bob Melvin said the club will embrace his return, according to the Washington Post.
“He’s gone through his penalty,” Melvin said. “It’s one thing if it’s a guy who might be a little bit of a bad guy, but his is a true gentleman, a great guy who just made a mistake. He’ll be embraced back here again. He was very important for us. Guys like that can kind of get lost in the shuffle when they’re not here and you get to the postseason, but he was a key guy for us, he really was.”
The Athletics signed Colon to a one-year, $3 million deal over the offseason with bonuses for relief appearances. But Melvin said that Colon would prepare to return to starting despite the surplus of rookie hurlers.
Before the suspension, Colon compiled a 10-9 record with a 3.43 ERA in 24 starts for the Athletics. And Melvin — who won the AL Manager of the Year award — is hoping the former Cy Young award winner can continued to contribute in his 16th season in the majors.
“I don’t need to talk to Bart. I will call him at some point in time,” Melvin said. “I got very close to him, and we had a nice conversation and he was very remorseful when all that went down. I think in the back of his mind he was hoping this situation would arise for him again, and it did.”
Now, Colon will have a chance to atone for his past mistakes.
