The Pittsburgh Pirates have said goodbye to one of Pittsburgh’s own in Neil Walker. The second baseman leaves behind an enduring connection to the fan base, as well as 93 career home runs. He gave seven seasons of his prime to his hometown club, but with chances of an extension null and void, the team felt the need to move on.
Enter Jonathon Niese.
Niese, acquired for Walker in a straight 1-for-1 trade, is a journeyman left-hand starter. In eight MLB Seasons – six as a full-time big leaguer – Niese has accumulated a 3.91 ERA. He has a high watermark of 13 wins back in 2012, which also saw his low-ERA mark of 3.40.
On the surface, it’s hard to wrap your head around the acquisition, but for the Pirates, there are three specific factors that made Niese an attractive target.
1. He is under control for three more years.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are big into having players under team control for as long as possible. Need evidence? Look no further than the contract extensions for Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte. The team locked down two franchise cornerstones at the perfect time in their careers. Niese has never been considered to be such a talent as those players, but he does carry three more years of control. And, that control comes at a very reasonable price for starting pitching. Due to make $9 million in 2016, with a raise to $10 million and $11 million in 2017 and 2018, respectively, Niese will still be a bargain at that time even if he only maintains his current performance.
2. He has prototypical “Pirates Pitches.”
Niese has a varied range of pitches at the ready. The data-tracking site Brooks Baseball shows that Niese can throw any of six pitches at any given time. In addition to a four-seam fastball, curveball, slider and changeup, Niese has two trademark pitches used by the Pirates in their run prevention philsophies: a sinking fastball and a cut fastball. Both of these pitches rely on movement to fool hitters and induce ground balls. Niese’s sinking fastball clocks in with a 61.25 percent ground ball rate, while the cutter checks in at 63.03 percent. Overall, Niese was third overall in ground ball rate among qualifying National League left-handers.
3. He does more than just provide a bridge to Tyler Glasnow and other prospects.
While many are impatiently waiting for Tyler Glasnow, Jameson Taillon and others to join the MLB ranks, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington remains steadfast in his slow-but-steady approach. This is especially true with Glasnow. In light of this approach, many fans are more than content with the Pirates pursuing bargain-bin names such as Justin Masterson to serve as a stopgap of sorts until Glasnow and the others are fully ready. By acquiring a pitcher in Niese who fits their system and carries more years of control, the team now has someone who can pitch alongside them to offset the eventual loss of Charlie Morton and Jeff Locke.
Niese may not have been the most exciting name for the Pittsburgh Pirates to pursue, but upon closer inspection he appears to bring a lot to the table.
