Chicago White Sox: Is Bartolo Colon the Answer?

There has been recent speculation that the Chicago White Sox are attempting to sign Angels starting pitcher Bartolo Colon for the 2008 season. 

So far there has been very little disclosed out of White Sox camp regarding this deal. This hints towards the possibility that this deal will not happen, which would be the best thing for the White Sox at this time.

The Sox are obviously looking to add some depth to their starting rotation with so many young pitchers debuting this year, but at what cost?

Chicago is already a team that is one of the top spending teams in the league and has seen very little return in terms of wins, so far, in the past few years. 

Is signing an aging pitcher who turns 35 in May really going to lead to more wins?  

Since going 21-8 in 2005 and winning the American League Cy Young Award, Colon has gone 7-13 the past two seasons, pitching only 155 innings and sporting a 5.11 ERA in 2006, before following it up in 2007 with a 6.34 ERA. 

Additionally, Bartolo Colon's injury-plagued 2007 campaign tied a career worst in WHIP with a 1.62 (tying his rookie season) and a career high in Batting Average Against with a .320 mark. 

Combine that with the fact that Colon has managed to start only 29 games over the past two seasons combined after a career that has seen him start at least 30 games in a season, eight out of Colon's 11 MLB seasons.  

The fact that the White Sox are being so aggressive this offseason is a great sign of the direction the organization is heading, but why Bartolo Colon? 

The team is going to end up overpaying for a big name player that won't produce nearly what his salary would require.  Adding Bartolo Colon to a pitching rotation with Jose Contreras is already asking for trouble.  It is almost guaranteed that Jose and Bartolo would both end up on the DL during this season, leaving the rotation spots to be filled in by youngsters Gavin Floyd and Lance Broadway, among others.  

The White Sox need to forget about acquiring a high-risk player in Colon and focus on developing their young pitchers by sticking with them for a full season. 

The potential for injury in the older pitchers is comparable to going with two to three young pitchers in the starting staff, but much less expensive. 

Kenny Williams' aggressive offseason has been magnificent so far, so why make such a risky deal for an overweight pitcher like Colon? 

This is one free agent the White Sox should avoid; there is more risk than reward to be found in this deal.