Veteran pitcher Bartolo Colon to play in Mexican Baseball League

Right-hander Bartolo Colon hasn't appeared in an MLB regular-season game since the 2018 campaign, and the veteran affectionately known among fans as "Big Sexy" will turn 48 years old in May. Despite all of that, he isn't yet ready to hang his glove or bat up for good. 

As Matt Monagan wrote for the MLB website, Colon has reached a one-year agreement with Mexican Baseball League club Acereros de Monclova. He was supposed to play for that team last year, but the league canceled the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

As Monagan wrote, former big leaguers Chris Carter, Erick Aybar, and Al Alburquerque may all play alongside Colon with the Acereros this year. However, Colon admitted last May that he wanted to return to MLB and possibly retire as a member of the New York Mets, where he pitched from 2014-16. 

"That Mets team was really something special," Colon told ESPN's Marly Rivera at that time. "I've played with 10 teams, but with the Mets, the way all those players treated me, how that entire franchise treated me, from the front office to the kitchen staff, it was amazing. And Mets fans are the best. In the beginning, when they laughed at me every time my helmet fell off, at first I felt uncomfortable. But when I saw how much the fans enjoyed it, I asked for a bigger batting helmet so that it would fall more because it was so much fun for them!"

Colon continued: "If it was up to me, I would retire with the Mets. I would like my career to end in New York."