Mets Place Jon Niese on DL; Scott Hairston Soon to Follow

The New York Mets have officially placed Jon Niese on the 15 day DL in a move that has been expected since the pitcher’s disastrous start last night.  New York replaced Niese on their roster with Triple-A catcher Mike Nickeas.

Scott Hairston is expected to shortly follow Niese to the DL, as he’s dealing with a similar ribcage injury.  He’s heading back to New York to meet with team doctors.

Niese is dealing with an injury to his right ribcage.  While injuries such as this tend to take a bit longer to heal, Mets manager Terry Collins has not said that Niese is expected to miss the remainder of the season.  Instead the skipper hopes to have his starting pitcher back after the required two weeks.

Niese has been dealing with discomfort in his side for some time now, and he aggravated the injury in the third inning of last night’s contest against the Phillies.  While delivering a pitch to Hunter Pence, Niese experienced pain but ultimately decided to stay in the game.

It didn’t end up being a good choice.

Niese went on to surrender a three run shot off the bat of John Mayberry Jr., the next batter he faced.  New York later pulled Niese after he allowed 8 earned runs on 10 hits in only 4 innings of work.

After the game, Niese admitted that he should have notified the team of his discomfort after his pitch to Pence.

"“It’s hurting,” Niese said. “I feel terrible. I should have said something after that at-bat, but I let the game get away and I just feel awful for it. I did the best I could with what I had. But it’s one of those things where I’ve just got to get it better.”"

Niese posted a solid first half, carrying a sub 4 ERA into the All-Star break, but has struggled of late.  After Tuesday night’s debacle, Niese has now allowed 28 earned runs over his last 7 starts spanning 39 innings, good for an earned run average of 6.46.  The 24 year old hits the DL with a season ERA of 4.40.

The Mets replaced Niese with a catcher because backstop Ronny Paulino is dealing with a sore foot.

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