The Dominican newspaper claimed Bartolo Colon was on the verge of signing the minor-league pact and was slated to travel to the United States on Tuesday to finalize the contract. But these rumors of a big free-agent splash were quickly spurned by Detroit Tigers GM Al Avila, who told ESPN simply that “it’s not true.”
The news comes amid a rash of injuries to the Tigers starting pitching corps, both at the major-league level and in Triple-A Toledo. Four members of the projected Opening Day starting rotation are currently sidelined due to injury, including Michael Fulmer (Tommy John Surgery) and Matt Moore (knee surgery), who are both out for the season.