With spring training less than a week old, GM Brian Cashman is still looking to add to the roster. According to Joel Sherman of the NY Post, the Yankees are set to sign LHP Jon Niese to a minor league deal, pending a physical.
I hear Jon Niese is taking a physical with #Yankees and if all is OK, he will sign a minor league contract
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) February 19, 2017
Niese, 30, was selected by the New York Mets in the seventh round of the 2005 amateur draft. He made his big league debut in 2008, and spent parts of eight years in Queens before getting traded to Pittsburgh in December 2015 for 2B Neil Walker.
Niese went 8-6 with a 4.91 ERA in 23 games (18 starts) for the Pirates last season before returning to the Mets in a trade for reliever Antonio Bastardo in August. Niece then appeared in six games (two starts) for the Mets, going 0-1 with an 11.45 ERA in 11 innings. He exited an Aug. 24 start against the Cardinals with knee pain, and ultimately underwent arthroscopic knee surgery which ended his year. The Mets declined Niese’s option after the season and instead paid him a $500,000 buyout, making him a free agent.
If and when the deal is finalized, Niese will report to big league camp and compete for either a rotation or bullpen spot, according to Sherman. Cashman had hinted earlier in the winter that the team was still interested in adding a lefty to the pen to go along with Tommy Layne and maybe Chasen Shreve, so Niese could potentially satisfy that need. Sherman tweeted that the Yankees were interested in lefty relievers Jerry Blevins and old friend Boone Logan, but their price tags were too high.
Niese’s best year as a professional came in 2012 when he went 13-9 with a 3.40 ERA, 155 strikeouts and 174 hits allowed in 190.1 innings as a starter. For his career, Niese owns a 69-68 record with a 4.07 ERA in 211 games (197 starts).
