New York Mets assistant general manager John Ricco said the team is open to trading starting pitcher Jon Niese, per Adam Rubin of ESPN.com.
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Crowded Rotation Could Mean Niese Is Odd Man Out
Monday, Dec. 7
Rubin said the Mets have made it clear that starters Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz, who pitched the team to a 2015 World Series appearance, aren’t going anywhere. Neither is Zack Wheeler, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Ricco didn’t mince words when talking about the possibility of moving Niese, though, per Rubin.
“We haven’t been actively shopping him, but other than the four guys [Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard and Matz], we’re going to be looking for ways to improve the team,” he said. “If there’s a deal that involves him and makes us better, I think we would definitely consider it.”
This isn’t shocking, considering the talented quartet outpitched Niese during the regular season (although Matz made just six starts) and was nearly untouchable during the first two rounds of the postseason.
Wheeler is four years younger and considerably cheaper than the 29-year-old Niese, whom the team owes $9 million in 2016 with $10 million and $11 million team options in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
The 6’3″, 220-pound left-hander posted a 4.13 ERA in 2015 with 113 strikeouts and 55 walks in 176.2 innings.
Although Wheeler will not return until June or July, Ricco said he is confident the team would be able to fill Niese’s spot in the rotation if it trades him, per Rubin:
We do feel good about where Rafael Montero is health-wise, and I think he’d be a candidate for that. But we have other guys that we like. Sean Gilmartin has started in the past, and I think he’s shown he can get major league hitters out. So he’d be another consideration. And then we have some other young pitchers who would be in the mix there.
It makes sense for Ricco to at least put out some feelers for a potential Niese deal. A move could save the team some money and allow younger pitchers to gain experience at the back end of the rotation.
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