Not so long ago Jeff Niemann was a big part of the Rays’ plans, but the former No. 4 overall pick missed most of 2012 and all of 2013 with a fractured fibula followed by shoulder surgery and now Tampa Bay has dropped him from the 40-man roster.
Niemann chose free agency, so he’ll be looking for a new home at age 30 after throwing 544 innings with a 4.08 ERA for the Rays.
As of September he was hoping to be fully healthy in time for spring training, so Niemann should draw plenty of interest as an inexpensive bounceback candidate capable of being a mid-rotation starter.
