Pirates trade Jon Niese to Mets for Antonio Bastardo

The former Mets starter landed in Pittsburgh last December in the deal that brought Neil Walker to NY as a 2016 replacement for free agent Daniel Murphy.

This season Nova is 7-6 with a 4.90 ERA.

In a move that is, apparently, not some typo or discarded Kafka plot, the Pirates have traded Jon Niese back to the Mets for Antonio Bastardo.

Minutes after the deadline, the Mets confirmed the deal. After that, Niese was demoted to the bullpen, where he lowered his ERA to 4.91 over five more appearances through July 30.

Niese was originally acquired from the Mets for Neil Walker, but didn’t pan out as a pitcher for the Bucs. Niese, who pitched out of the bullpen throughout the Mets’ playoff run last season, will likely be used in relief but will be available for starts as needed.

Bastardo will be the second left-handed reliever the Pirates acquired from the NL East this trade deadline, picking up Felipe Rivero from Washington in the Mark Melancon trade.

Bastardo is also under contract for 2017, so the Mets will send cash to offset some of his $6.5 million salary next season. He is owed $6.5 million in 2017.