Niese,a former Hagerstown Sun, went 9-10 with an ERA slightly above four and is a nice fit in the back of the Pittsburgh rotation after being the odd man out with the Mets,who have an abundance of young power arms to start.
In Pittsburgh,where the Pirates have two openings among their starters after the retirement of A.J. Burnett and the loss of J.A.Happ to free agency,Niese slots in nicely in the middle to back of the rotation.
The lefty isn't overpowering (113 SO's in 176 innings),but he is durable and at worst,will be able to be an inning eater as a Pirate.
Niese is under contract for 2016 (9 million) and has team options (10 and 11 million) for the following two seasons,so the Pirates could conceivably have Niese for three years,if they desire and if the production is of value.
The loss of Neil Walker is yet another reason on how the cost of doing business in small markets tends to make teams constantly cull the herd,no matter the reason and no matter the popularity.
Walker hit .269 with 16 homers last season,but was likely to get a raise from his eight million salary with arbitration more than not as the end result before he hit free agency.
With Walker being 30 now,signing him to a long term deal did not make sense for the Pirates and moving him now enables the Bucs in getting the best possible value in Niese for the return.
Walker was the backup choice for the Mets after the team failed in getting their top identified target in free agency as Ben Zobrist signed with the Cubs and allows their best second base prospect Dilson Herrera (also obtained from the Pirates) an additional year to mature at AAA Las Vegas.
The Pirates will likely (barring no further moves) move Josh Harrison to second and hope that Jung Ko Kang is healthy enough to start the season at third.
I suppose Alen Hanson and Max Moroff have chances to win the job,but Hanson was just average at AAA Indianapolis last year and Moroff had a nice year at AA Altoona,but has yet to test International League waters,let alone the bigs...
Neil Walker had a special spot with Pirate fans because of his Pittsburgh background,but it was more than just that.
Neil Walker was drafted in the Dave Littlefield years and his selection followed by Andrew McCutchen in the next draft were about all that Littlefield did right,so fans that waited for Walker and McCutchen to wind their way through the system and hopefully turn things around developed a special bond with them.
Neil Walker took a little longer than normal as he was drafted as a catcher,spent a few years behind the plate,moved to third,but after the drafting of Pedro Alvarez,wasn't needed as the eventual third baseman and then worked hard to become a decent enough second baseman and most of that transition was done at the major league level.
This one hurts a little,but the team addressed a need and in a business that comes down to making the best out of what you have to spend,the Pirates made a prudent decision.
Less than popular with the fans perhaps,but smart and prudent......
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