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Tampa, Fla.
After a dismal season, undergoing knee surgery and getting released by the New York Mets, Jon Niese waited and waited and waited for a team to offer him a big-league contract.
Finally, with spring-training camps open and the first exhibition games less than a week away, Niese settled for the best deal available: a minor-league contract with the New York Yankees.
“I wanted a big-league deal, but being a free agent — it’s the first time being a free agent — I didn’t know what to expect,” Niese said Monday morning in the Yankees’ clubhouse after undergoing a physical. “People are only going to pay me what the next guy is. Nobody wanted to give me a big-league deal.”
With so much uncertainty in the Yankees’ rotation — two spots are up for grabs among five pitchers who are unproven as starters — the team was looking for depth, and with a minor-league deal there is little risk involved. Niese’s 197 starts are nearly three times as many as Adam Warren, Luis Severino, Chad Green, Bryan Mitchell and Luis Cessa have combined for in their career.
“I thought I had a good chance to make the ballclub, and that’s my goal,” Niese said.
Red Sox: Mitch Moreland knows he’s likely the only new player in Boston’s lineup since David Ortiz retired at the end of last season. He’s just not listening to those who say he needs to replace Big Papi’s lofty production. “I try not to hear it because there’s no replacing that guy,” said the 31-year-old first baseman, who signed a $5.5 million, one-year deal with the Red Sox during the off-season. After playing his first 61/2 seasons in the majors with the Texas Rangers, Moreland is with a new organization for the first time in his career. So far, he said, the move has been smooth.
Mets: Team captain David Wright is impressed by the leadership qualities in the clubhouse around him. “I’ve never been around this good a mix of veteran guys in the clubhouse, but it’s also the attitude of the younger guys to go along with the depth we have,” the third baseman said.
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