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Carlos Beltran: Yes, I'll Pay Mets' Jon Niese For Nose Job

JUPITER, Fla. (WFAN/AP) — Who says you can't pick your friend's nose?

Carlos Beltran said Thursday he plans on paying Mets lefty and former teammate Jonathon Niese in person for a $10,000 nose job.

Beltran, now with the St. Louis Cardinals, said that he'll have a check for Niese when his new team plays the Mets in spring training. The clubs are about a 40-minute interstate drive apart in Florida.

"I did get the bill, yeah," Beltran said. "I want to go there and give it to him personally."

Beltran maintained he didn't recommend surgery last summer, but he did offer to foot the bill after Niese said the procedure wasn't a priority.

"They were talking in the clubhouse and somebody asked him, and he said it wasn't a priority for him to do it," said Beltran. "And I just said, 'What about if it's paid (for)? Would you do it?' And he said, 'Of course, I'd do it.'"

"He came to me the day after the conversation and he said 'Are you sure you're going to pay for it?'" he added. "I said, 'Well, I'll pay for it if you're going to do it.' I guess he was happy that he didn't have to pay $10,000 for his nose."

The 25-year-old pitcher had surgery to correct a deviated septum in October and said earlier this week that he's been breathing easier now that the right nostril is no longer blocked.

"You know what, the only thing I did was offer my service to pay, that's all I did," Beltran said. "I didn't tell him to do anything. I know people said I recommended nose surgery. That's impossible I was going to recommend a person have nose surgery."

Any closing thoughts on Niese's nose? Sound off below...

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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