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          New York Mets

          Mets line up Bartolo Colon for Opening Day

          • Adam Rubin, ESPN Staff WriterMar 20, 2015, 07:20 PM ET
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              Adam Rubin has covered the Mets since 2003. He's a graduate of Mepham High School on Long Island and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He joined ESPNNewYork after spending 10 years at the New York Daily News.
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          PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The New York Mets have lined up Bartolo Colon to start on Opening Day in Washington, but have yet to officially bestow him with that honor.

          After tossing 4 2/3 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, Colon revealed his next game would be on the minor league side.

          Manager Terry Collins further explained that Colon's final two Grapefruit League starts -- scheduled for March 26 and 31 -- line up against the Washington Nationals, Colon's first regular-season opponent. So the Mets plan to pitch Colon on the minor league side next week to avoid too much exposure to the Nats.

          Collins would not name Colon the Opening Day starter during Friday's postgame press conference, but the math suggests he will be.

          If Colon's final spring-training start is intended for March 31, that lines up for Opening Day on April 6 on an extra day of rest.

          Multiple team insiders confirmed that is how things intentionally have been lined up, but one source insisted the assignment still needs to receive one more discussion by team officials before it's publicly disclosed.

          Publicly, Jacob deGrom and Jonathon Niese still are Opening Day considerations.

          Colon is slated to become -- at 41 years, 317 days old -- the oldest Opening Day starter in the majors since Jamie Moyer (43 years, 136 days) and Randy Johnson (42 years, 205 days) in 2006. He also would become the oldest Mets Opening Day starter ever, surpassing Tom Glavine in 2007 (41 years, 7 days).

          Colon went 15-13 with a 4.09 ERA a season ago. He logged 200 innings for the first time since winning the AL Cy Young in 2005.

          Colon has made six career Opening Day starts -- the most recent in 2006 with the Los Angeles Angels.

          The Nats have not announced their Opening Day starter, but it may very well be Washington newcomer Max Scherzer.

          (A source subsequently said the spring-training plan involving Colon has been changed. Instead, the Mets intend to adjust one of Colon's final two spring-training starts by a day so he can pitch in the Grapefruit League and avoid facing the Nats. He remains on track for Opening Day.)