Pirates GM regrets brutally honest comments on Niese

Neal Huntington is discovering that maybe honesty isn't always the right policy.

The Pittsburgh Pirates general manager made a couple of brutally honest remarks about starter Jon Niese in an interview Friday, stating that taking on two fringe prospects may have been a better return in the offseason trade that sent second baseman Neil Walker to the New York Mets.

On Sunday, the Pirates executive revealed he regrets making the candid comments in the first place.

"Again, hindsight being 20/20, the words were probably a little bit harsh but I meant to answer the question candidly and honestly," Huntington said Sunday on MLB Network Radio. "And in hindsight, given the results that we've gotten to this point in time we might have been better served with a different outcome. That's not to say that I regret the decision. I don't feel it's a mistake, I never used that word.

But in hindsight, I (answered) the question in earnest, and in hindsight, I wish I hadn't."

Niese, who was recently demoted to the bullpen after posting a 5.04 ERA in 18 starts this season with the Pirates, is also reportedly being shopped by the club. Prior to 2016, the southpaw had crafted a 3.91 ERA over eight seasons with the Mets.