NASHVILLE — When teams make major moves, they usually feel some pain. They include an extra prospect in a trade, add another year to a contract, extend themselves for a player with untapped potential. High-impact deals inspire both elation and dread.
The Mets and the Yankees each left the winter meetings Thursday with a few new players and the hope that their roster is a little bit better. To have felt more encouraged would have required greater risk. Neither team was really up for it.
The Mets traded an expendable veteran starter, Jon Niese, to Pittsburgh for Neil Walker, a reliable second baseman entering his final season before free agency.