Burly Colon reports to Red Sox camp

Bartolo Colon covered his ample torso with a Red Sox T-shirt, took the field and played catch with his new pitching coach well after his teammates had finished practicing Tuesday.

The former workhorse for four teams hadn't thrown seriously in nearly three weeks. There's still plenty of work to do before he can take the mound in a game wearing an official Boston jersey.

But his workout partner said the right-hander's primary need was to get back into playing shape rather than to overcome any elbow or shoulder injuries that cut short his last two seasons.

"There are no limitations from a physical standpoint," pitching coach John Farrell said. "It's just a matter of getting him back into playing shape and building up his arm strength to the point of facing hitters."

Farrell quickly saw signs that Colon can still fire a ball — even if it appears very unlikely he can be ready by opening day.

"For not really picking up a ball since Feb. 6, I mean, at 120 feet throwing the ball on a line, he's never had a shortage of arm strength," Farrell said. "We'll take the necessary steps to get him ready."

With 41-year-old Curt Schilling expected to miss at least half the season with a shoulder injury, the Red Sox signed the 34-year-old Colon to a one-year minor league contract worth $1.2 million if he is added to the 40-man roster. The deal also includes performance and roster bonuses.

He became a free agent after completing a four-year, $51 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels. But in the past two seasons of that deal, the two-time All-Star was just 7-13 with a 5.72 ERA in 29 games. Last season, elbow inflammation kept him off the postseason roster after he went 6-8 with a 6.34 ERA.

Colon last pitched on Feb. 6 for the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean World Series. He started and lasted 4 2-3 innings, throwing 57 pitches. He took the loss and gave up two runs on five hits with two strikeouts and no walks.

If he's healthy, Colon gives the Red Sox a chance to add to their rotation an accomplished pitcher who pitched more than 200 innings in eight of his nine seasons before 2006. He is 146-95 with a 4.10 ERA for Cleveland, Montreal, the Chicago White Sox and Angels since 1994.

"There's really no timetable on when he's going to get in a game," Farrell said. "Without having really picked up a ball over the past three weeks, it's going to take him a little time to get back in shape. But he's a guy that definitely provides us some depth as a starter. To answer any more questions about that, it's too early to tell."

Colon, who planned to speak to reporters on Wednesday, understands that he might remain in Fort Myers to work out after the team leaves spring training and that he must lose weight.

"I don't know the exact number of pounds that might have to be lost," Farrell said, "but I think there's some self-acknowledgment on his part that he is a little bit overweight right now."

The first four spots in Boston's rotation are set with Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield and Jon Lester. Rookie Clay Buchholz appears to have an edge over Julian Tavarez for the fifth spot.

"When you think you have enough pitching you don't," manager Terry Francona said. "Having more pitching is never a bad thing."

For now, there's no need to rush Colon into the rotation, even with Schilling sidelined.

"I think you can make some mistakes sometimes just rushing. Opening day, I think, is a false deadline for everybody," Francona said.