Atlanta Braves release Bartolo Colon

ATLANTA — The Braves parted ways with Bartolo Colon on Thursday, one day after he returned from the disabled list and gave up six earned runs in four innings against the San Diego Padres.

“The #Braves today designated RHP Bartolo Colón for assignment and selected the contract of LHP Rex Brothers from Triple-A @GwinnettBraves,” the team said Thursday on its official Twitter account.

Colon, 44, was signed to a $12.5 million contract last November. He and 42-year-old veteran knuckleballer R.A. Dickey were signed to one-year contracts as a bridge to the Braves young arms, including Sean Newcomb who has been outstanding since his promotion from the minors.

Dickey also has had some rough outings, including a loss on June 13 in which he gave up eight earned runs to Washington in a loss, but in his last two starts he has picked up a pair of wins, allowing only one run and two walks while striking out a dozen over 14 innings. He has a 6-5 record with a 4.63 ERA.

Colon was activated after having been on the DL since June 6 with what was termed a left oblique strain. His best start of the season came April 16, also against San Diego, when he hurled seven innings of one-hit, one-run ball for his first win. That effort included a single walk and a half-dozen strikeouts.

Wednesday was Colon’s 13th start for the Braves. He only had two quality starts (at least six innings of work with three or fewer runs) and ended his Atlanta tenure with a 2-8 record and a whopping 8.14 ERA. He gave up six or more runs in six starts and gave up five in another. He allowed 92 hits and 20 walks in 63 innings of work.

The Braves were hoping for an innings eater with better numbers after Colon went 15-8 in 2016, carrying a 3.43 ERA over 191.2 innings.

Now that he’s been designated for assignment, the Braves have 10 days to trade him before having to release him, though the chances of making a deal would appear unlikely.

Brothers, a lefty reliever,last pitched in the majors in 2015, when he appeared in 17 games covering 10.1 innings. He was 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA with the Colorado Rockies that year.