New Twin Bartolo Colon ponders retirement after rough 2017

Bartolo Colon has joined the Twins, but that hasn't stopped him from thinking about not being a Twin.

Colon, 44, has been pondering retirement, according to an ESPN report. He said his next scheduled start, on Monday in Los Angeles, could affect his decision.

His thoughts about retiring apparently stem from his time with Atlanta this season, where he went 2-8 with a 8.14 ERA before being designated for assignment on July 4. He debuted with the Twins on Tuesday, giving up one run through four innings before getting knocked out in the fifth in a 6-3 loss to the Yankees. He was charged with four earned runs in four innings, raising his ERA to 8.19.

The Twins, who aren't exactly busting at the seams with starting pitching options, are willing to give Colon another start. And manager Paul Molitor — who played until he was 41 — said it's a subject all older baseball players must face.

"To think about retirement when you're 44 in Major League Baseball is a normal thing," Molitor said.

The Twins will unveil a statue of former manager Tom Kelly before Friday's game against the Tigers.

The unveiling is set for 4:30 p.m. at Target Plaza, outside Gate 34.

The statue will be the eighth at Target Field, joining Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Kirby Puckett, Calvin Griffith, Carl and Eloise Pohlad, Tony Oliva and Kent Hrbek. All the statues were sculpted by Minnesota artist Bill Mack.

The Twins still hope that Tyler Jay, the sixth overall draft pick in 2015, will pitch before the season is over.

Jay has thrown only two innings for Class AA Chattanooga this season because of arm and shoulder problems. He recently went through a battery of tests to see if he had thoracic outlet syndrome, which would require season-ending surgery. Jay returned to Fort Myers, Fla., to begin another rehabilitation program with an eye to getting back on the mound.

"We are going to give it another try," said Brad Steil, the Twins' director of minor league operations. "We also had his shoulder checked out, and it is fine."

Jay has pitched only 104 innings since being drafted because of injuries. The Twins initially wanted to build him into a starter, but the club has decided to make the 23-year old a reliever.

Molitor offered strong support before Wednesday's 6-1 victory over the Yankees for the rookie center fielder, who was batting .360 at Class AAA Rochester when he was called up shortly before the All-Star break.

"The numbers don't back it up, but his at-bats have been decent to me," Molitor said. "It's like he's a click off. It's not like he's chasing too many pitches or trying to do things he's not capable of. He's close."

On Wednesday, Molitor moved Granite down to the No. 9 spot in the batting order. He singled to center in the second inning to drive in two runs — his first in the major leagues — and it took a nice play by third baseman Ronald Torreyes in the fourth to stop a second hit.