New York Mets: Could they bring back Jonathon Niese?
By Jason Evans
The New York Mets may need another starter for the stretch run. Could the bring back Jonathon Niese?
The New York Mets went from having one of the best rotations in the game today, to a rotation filled with question marks. Matt Harvey is now done for the year with TOS. Steven Matz and Noah Syndergaard have bone spurs in their elbows. I doubt they want Logan Verett starting every fifth day down the stretch.
The issue is the starting pitching market is razor thin, especially with Drew Pomeranz being dealt Thursday to the Red Sox. One of the names that has emerged is ex-Met Jonathon Niese. Niese was sent to Pittsburgh in the off-season for Neil Walker. Could the Mets bring Niese back?
Jon Niese may have been crushed by his own GM, but starting pitching is so thin that I hear the Mets aren't ruling out a potential reunion.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) July 16, 2016
Anyway, not saying it's the Mets are banging down the door for Niese. Just saying market is thin and they can't dismiss many options.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) July 16, 2016
Whatever trade value Niese had was very much depreciated by Pirates GM Neil Huntington earlier this week.
"“In hindsight, maybe the two fringe prospects and trying to figure out where to reallocate the money might have been a better return,” Huntington told 93.7 The Fan."
Niese has struggled this season in Pittsburgh. He’s 7-6 with a 5.13 ERA. He leads the league with eight wild pitches this season. He has a FIP of 5.49. Niese has a $10 million team option for next year and an $11 million team option for 2018.
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The Mets like to buy low and especially on guys that have an expiring contract. The Mets wouldn’t have to necessarily keep Niese next year, though with some money coming off the books including Bartolo Colon and uncertainty surrounding their other arms, it may not be the worst idea to bring Niese back. Yes, Niese has been awful this year, but maybe reuniting him with Dan Warthen will help him.