Beltran buys Niese new nose

It's common for pitchers to buy their fielders small tokens of gratitude -- often a nice meal -- for robbing homers and turning double-plays all season long.

It's not common for outfielders to buy their pitchers nose jobs.

But that's what Carlos Beltran did for former teammate Jon Niese over the offseason. Although the outfielder's concern was purely with the appearance of Niese's considerable schnoz, the southpaw found that a rhinoplasty could aid his breathing and increase his conditioning.

The early verdict: The honker looks about the same, but Niese did show up in Port St. Lucie 10 pounds lighter than last season.

Oh, and Beltran still has some unpaid medical bills to take care of.

Update!:

Carlos Beltran said that he has received the bill for #Mets pitcher Jon Niese's nose job and will pay later this spring #stlcards #cardinals

— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) February 23, 2012