Following a demotion to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen and brutally honest remarks about his performance from general manager Neil Huntington, left-hander Jon Niese could potentially end up with his former team.
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That’s not to say that the Mets are banging down the doors to bring back Niese, who was dealt to the Pirates straight up this winter for second baseman Neil Walker.
“In hindsight, maybe the two fringe prospects and trying to figure out where to re-allocate the money might have been a better return [for Walker]”, Huntington said (hat tip Zach Braziller of the New York Post). “We’re just unplugging him, putting him in the bullpen for right now, see where that can take us”.
The top overall pick of the 2011 draft, Cole has posted a 2-0 mark with a 1.74 ERA in three career outings with the Nationals. “We own that. We accept that”.
“I would rather start, obviously”, Niese said. The trade has been a lopsided one so far in the favor of the Mets, as Walker has 16 home runs this season, while Niese has struggled in Pittsburgh. “I knew the rotation was getting pretty crowded”.
Pittsburgh also needs to make a roster move to make room for ace Gerrit Cole, who is scheduled to return from the disabled list Saturday against Washington.
Another player thought to be on the rotation bubble considering the Pirates’ wealth of pitching prospects, Jeff Locke will start the first game of the Pirates-Brewers series, which begins on Tuesday. He allowed no runs and four hits with 12 strikeouts and no walks in eight innings over two rehab starts with Triple-A Indianapolis.
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Cole suffered a right triceps strain after throwing just two innings in his last appearance, and the injury caused him to miss almost five weeks of pitching.
