The New York Mets have acquired Neil Walker from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jonathan Niese.

New York focused on acquiring Walker after Ben Zobrist signed with the Chicago Cubs in free agency.

Mets assistant general manager John Ricco compared the trade for Walker to how the Mets moved on from their aborted pursuit of Carlos Gomez at the trade deadline. The Mets turned around and acquired Yoenis Cespedes.

"It came together pretty quickly today," Ricco said. "I think the start of it was last night. Roy Smith, one of our top scouts, was in contact with the Pirates. They mentioned Neil Walker might be available. We started talking about some names back and forth. It really came together about midday today to where we got some traction and were able to get a deal done. ... He's a guy we had on our short list, but didn't know if he would be available. We view him as a real positive alternative to the deal we were looking to do the other day. He fits on a lot of different levels -- a switch-hitter. He's got some power. A real good fit for our team. I think we're pretty happy to have him."