Even multi-millionaires occasionally look for work. That’s the somewhat odd situation Jon Niese finds himself in after being released by the Yankees on Sunday. Of course, he presumably doesn’t have to work again, thanks to the $25 million contract Niese signed with the Mets in 2012. He could pull a Koufax and retire at 30.

However, no matter how well-off you are, it’s extremely difficult to give up something you love doing. Niese has been playing baseball the majority of his life, and an athlete’s competitive fire can’t be easily doused. According to the New York Post, he’s inclined to stay with the Yankees, and would work in their extended spring training program. When General Manager Brian Cashman was asked if they would be interested in having Niese back, he replied, “I wouldn’t say.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement. And that’s from someone whose team could actually use some pitching.

Cashman surely meant well, but the comment was just another sign of how far Niese’s stock has fallen since he pitched for the Mets in the 2015 World Series. Who knows, now that Steven “the human disabled list” Matz is currently suffering from elbow soreness, and is unlikely to break camp with the Mets on Thursday night, maybe they’ll bring Niese back for a third … yeah, not happening.

Wherever he ends up, best of luck to a bizarrely maligned pitcher.

Matt Leinwohl