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Walking away: Pirates trade Walker to Mets for Niese

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The New York Mets quickly bounced back from losing out on their first choice of second basemen, acquiring Neil Walker from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday for left-hander Jonathon Niese.

The Mets had made it known that they were targeting Ben Zobrist as their No. 1 goal this offseason. But on Tuesday, the All-Star free agent chose the Chicago Cubs and former manager Joe Maddon.

“He’s a guy we had on our short list but didn’t know if he’d be available, and we view him as a real positive alternative to the deal we were looking to do the other day,” Mets assistant general manager John Ricco said about Walker at the winter meetings. “He fits on a lot of different levels – a switch-hitter, he’s got some power.”

Walker fills the hole created when postseason star Daniel Murphy became a free agent after New York lost in the World Series.

“It’s certainly weird,” Mets manager Terry Collins said of losing Murphy and Niese, two of the team’s longest tenured players. “Even when things were tough here, they were two guys who stood out and played well for us.”

Walker is arbitration eligible. He earned $8 million last year – after losing in arbitration – and can become a free agent after next season’s World Series. A Silver Slugger winner in 2014, the switch-hitter batted .269 with 16 homers and 71 RBIs last season for the Pirates, his hometown team.

“It’s an exciting opportunity, obviously, with the success the Mets have had this past year,” Walker said on a conference call. “Obviously, there’s mixed emotions being a born-and-bred Pittsburgher.”

Walker was one of Pittsburgh’s most popular players, and the Pirates even built a marketing campaign around him when he was called up to the big leagues in 2009. But general manager Neal Huntington had indicated he wasn’t going to pay market rate for a 30-year-old-infielder with a history of back issues. Walker curtly said “no” when asked if he received a long-term offer from the team.

“I have no ill-feelings toward anybody in Pittsburgh, in the organization,” Walker said. “Certainly given the circumstances with how being from Pittsburgh and never knowing anything else and coming up through the system and having a lot of ups and downs, definitely something that was unfortunate, I guess you could say.”

Josh Harrison is the most likely candidate to take over at second for now. The Pirates also have Alen Hanson, a touted 23-year-old prospect who spent last season with Triple-A Indianapolis.

Niese, 29, became expendable with the development of young Mets aces Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler — the latter is expected to return from Tommy John surgery next summer.

Niese helps fill Pittsburgh’s rotation holes created when A.J. Burnett retired and J.A. Happ signed a free-agent deal with Toronto.

“This is a true baseball trade in the sense that it helps fill an immediate need at the Major League level for each club,” Huntington said in a statement. “We have liked Jonathon for some time now.”

The Mets have focused on adding relief help and a second baseman this offseason. The loss of Niese doesn’t appear to shift that focus onto a starter because of the team’s depth but they’re still open to signing one. Ricco said the New York hasn’t ruled out re-signing Bartolo Colon because he had success in a relief role in the postseason.

Niese was 9-10 with a 4.13 ERA last season. He was a steady presence in the Mets’ rotation through the lean years but was moved to the bullpen for their run through the postseason.

He is 61-61 in eight seasons with a 3.91 ERA and has made at least 30 starts three times without ever reaching 200 innings.

Niese is owed $9 million next season in the final year of a five-year, $25.27 million contract. The Pirates will have $10 million options — or $500,000 buyouts — for 2017 and ’18.

With Murphy expected to get a hefty contract, the Mets were left with few options within the organization at second base. They have 21-year-old Dilson Herrera, who started 27 times at the spot last season and hit .211. The Mets got Herrera from the Pirates in August 2013 in a trade that sent Marlon Byrd and John Buck to Pittsburgh.

“The fact that we have Dilson definitely opened up more possibilities for us because we didn’t need to necessarily go only look for guys who we were going to control for a long period of time,” Ricco said. “In some ways it was more attractive that he’s not.”

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