Mets: Same song new dance, Brandon Nimmo could be traded this winter

The New York Mets could potentially use outfielder Brandon Nimmo as a valuable trade chip this winter to upgrade the major league roster.

This upcoming offseason the New York Mets will certainly have more funds to fill needs on the major league roster than they ever have in recent memory. The Mets will also need to be creative to fill some holes on the roster and it would not shock me if the front office deems outfielder Brandon Nimmo expendable this offseason.

Let me be the first person to say that Brandon Nimmo is one of my favorite Mets on the current roster and it would pain me to see him leave, as he is one of those guys you always find yourself rooting for as he brings a certain energy to the ballpark every day.

However, with the glut of corner outfielders that the Mets currently posses, Nimmo may provide the most value in bringing possibly a quality starting pitcher or another high caliber player back to Queens this offseason.

The former Mets first-round pick will be turning 28 years old by the start of next season and will not be a free agent until 2023. Nimmo, as we all know, is an on-base machine as evidence by his career .390 on-base percentage, and there isn’t a team around the league that wouldn’t value his offensive production as well as having him under team control for multiple seasons. With all that being said he can certainly be looked upon as one of the most valuable trade chips on the major league roster for the Mets to use in a potentially big deal this offseason.

Nimmo’s defense also profiles better in a corner outfield position rather than in center field where the Mets have been giving him most of his playing time this season. His defensive metrics in center field are well below average as he is rated as the second-worst defensive center fielder in all of baseball by Statcast.

The Mets should be prioritizing becoming a better defensive ballclub going into next season by adding a natural starting center fielder this winter and no longer having Nimmo play out of position.

This also wouldn’t be the first time that Nimmo’s name has been floated around in offseason trade rumors as it seems to be a popular topic every winter. We’ve seen Nimmo’s name in rumored trades for the likes of players in previous seasons that include Starling Marte, Francisco Lindor, Jay Bruce, among others.

Yet when the Mets have Jeff McNeil as well as Dominic Smith splitting time in left field and Nimmo struggling defensively in center field, but still providing value at the plate, the time may be now to pull the trigger in moving him for a greater team need.

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In past offseasons, I’ve always thought it would be a big mistake to move Nimmo as I’ve consistently viewed him as part of the solution at the big league level and never the problem. However, with Nimmo now playing out of position and the Mets being covered in right field by Michael Conforto and left field being covered by a combination of Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith, as well as J.D. Davis on some nights, there is now more flexibility than in year’s past to upgrade the roster unfortunately at Nimmo’s expense.