TAMPA — Following a physical Monday morning, Jon Niese put on a Yankees uniform and awaited instructions of where to go at George M. Steinbrenner Field on his first day with the club.
Niese, the former Mets lefty who is in camp on a minor league contract that would pay him $1.25 million if he makes the team and includes $750,000 in incentives, didn’t know how Joe Girardi planned to use him.
By the end of the day, Girardi was very clear the 30-year-old Niese, who has made 197 career starts and worked in relief just 14 times, has entered the competition for a bullpen spot.