The Pirates, anticipating a crowded rotation in the second half, have made Jon Niese available, Rob Biertempfel reports.
Niese is highly unlikely to bring back anything of interest. That's a shame, given that the Pirates traded a good player to get him, but there's really no other conclusion to reach. Niese has been right around replacement level this season, with mediocre periperhals and an astronomical home run rate (which seems likely to regress somewhat, but still). His propensity to generate ground balls is all he's got going for him at this point. It's very hard to see a contender imagining Niese as the answer to its rotation problem.