Report: Mets trade candidate Jon Niese clashed with manager
Mets lefty Jon Niese may be on the trade block. His reported late-season clash with manager Terry Collins may have something to do with that.
If Mets lefty Jon Niese winds up getting traded this offseason, it'll be because the Mets have a perceived surfeit of starting pitching and think they can improve their roster by moving him. That'll be the primary driver. However, Niese's reported September clash with manager Terry Collins may be a secondary factor in the team's willingness to move him.
Sources tell John Harper of the New York Daily News that it went down in Niese's final start of the regular season, when he ignored a bunt sign from the dugout. Here's the blow-by-blow from Harper:
"What the (bleep) was that?" the manager demanded.
"They were coming down my throat so I tried to slash," Niese said.
"Next time get the bunt down like we told you," Collins continued.
"F--- you," Niese said. "Take me out if you don't like it."
As Harper notes, Collins says Niese didn't use those exact words. Still, that's not a good look for Niese. Firing back at the manager when, say, you don't want to be pulled from the game is in some ways an admirable quality for a starting pitcher, but this, if accurate, very much isn't that.
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