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New Pirates Pitching Acquistions
By Jeff Demers
Jon Niese, LHP, Age 29
On December 9 the Pirates traded 2B Neil Walker to the New York Mets for Niese
Speaking of Ray Searage turnarounds, Niese had this to say of the Pirates esteemed pitching coach: “It seems like he knows his stuff. He takes his craft pretty seriously, and I’m really looking forward to working with him.” Back in 2012, Niese was a 13 game winner with 3.40 ERA and a paltry 1.17 WHIP. The 2015 campaign was not a banner year for Niese as he racked up a 4.13 ERA over 176 2/3 innings. He was homerun prone and dished out plenty of walks. It also marked the fourth time in his career that he had double digit losses (9-10).