Mets: Five best December free agent signings in franchise history

The New York Mets have had some great free agent signings in their history. Some of their best and most famous free agent signings occurred in December.

The New York Mets have had their fair share of Amazin’ free agent signings. They have signed plenty of former and future All-Stars, big impact veteran guys, and eventual Hall of Famers. Some of them so happened to fall in December and can be looked at as a nice holiday gift.

With the Mets more likely to be shopping in the free agent section more than the trade section this winter, it is a good time to look back at some of their best December free agent signings. Hopefully, for the Mets sake, they can add to the already great list of free agent signings they have made in December this year.

Let’s take a look at the Mets top five best free agent signings for the month of December.

5) Bartolo Colon

The always entertaining and fun to watch Bartolo Colon will start the list off at number five. While some might question this, Colon brought more to the Mets than providing comedic value. He will always be known for his famous home run hit in San Diego, his behind the backflip in Miami, and other on-field antics, but there was more to Big Sexy than that.

Colon was coming off two years in Oakland where he was suspended for part of his first season due to PED use but was an All-Star selection in his second and final year while finishing sixth in the Cy Young voting. Despite having a good season there was concern regarding Colon due to the PED suspension and his age as he was 40 years old already. Colon put all the worries to rest as he put up strong numbers in New York.

On December 14th, 2013 Colon signed a 2-year deal worth $20M with the Mets. The first season was worth $9M and the second was worth $11M. Colon did sign a one year deal worth an additional $7.25M following his two-year deal that we will include since he did not leave in between.

Colon was an extremely reliable arm while in Queens as he logged at least 31 starts each season as well as pitching 191+ innings. Over his three seasons, he collected 44 wins, pitched to a 3.90 ERA, a1.225 WHIP, a 4.7 pitching WAR, and he was selected to the National League All-Star team one year.

Colon also served as a veteran leader for a relatively young team at the time. The Mets big five of deGrom, Syndergaard, Harvey, Wheeler, and Matz were all in their first few seasons and were able to benefit from a pitcher who had been around for fifteen years already.

Outside of Colon’s entertainment that will be remembered forever, his production on the field showed to be worth it. In his three seasons, he was able to provide the Mets with veteran leadership, 44 wins, a reliable arm, and the ability to leave fans on the edge of their seat for only $27.25M.