Niese signs 5-year extension
New York Mets starting pitcher Jonathon Niese throws against the Detroit Tigers in the second inning of a spring training baseball game in Lakeland, Fla. (March 12, 2012) Credit: AP
The Mets have signed starting pitcher Jonathon Niese to a five-year contract extension that could keep him with the team through 2018.
"A quality lefthander is not a rare commodity, but certainly a very valuable commodity," general manager Sandy Alderson said. "We're very pleased with what he's done for us through 2011 and we think he has the potential to improve substantially."
Niese, 25, stands to earn $1.02 million this season, $3 million in 2013, $5 million in 2014, $7 million in 2015 and $9 million in 2016. There are club options for 2017 and 2018 worth $10 million and $10.5 million, respectively. Each of those years comes with a $500,000 buyout.
Niese went 11-11 with a 4.40 ERA in 26 starts last season, giving up 178 hits in 1571/3 innings.
Alderson said the long-term goal is to "build a core of players that can be Mets and make the Mets competitive for a long period of time. And I think Jonathon fits into that mold for us."
Niese, selected in the seventh round of the 2005 draft, is 22-23 with a 4.39 ERA in his major-league career.
"I'm proud to be with the Mets," said the 6-4, 217-pounder. "I love the teammates, I love the organization. I think we're going in the right direction. And I'm just happy to be here."
Asked about the timing of Niese's deal -- just weeks after the team's settlement in the Bernie Madoff fraud case -- Alderson said it would be "speculative" to connect the two. But he added: "That may have had something to do with it. But the bottom line is that through the dialogue, a number of things did happen. We may have reached this contract agreement anyway. But it is hard to ignore that those other issues were resolved."
