NY Mets contract with fan favorite player has some early wrinkles showing

Brandon Nimmo’s calling cards were hustle, on base percentage, and, co course, hustle. Nimmo was an odd choice by the New York Mets when he was made the first round selection in 2011 (13th overall) out of high school in Wyoming that had no baseball team.

And it seemed like an odd decision to extend Nimmo after the 2022 season while, at the same time, allowing Michael Conforto (the Mets first round selection in 2014, 10th overall, out of Oregon State University) to leave via free agency.

It took Nimmo longer to make his Major League debut as Conforto joined a Mets team in 2015 that would go on to play in the World Series. Nimmo would join him in the Mets outfield in 2016, but it wouldn’t be until the 2018 season that he would earn a regular spot in the lineup and get 500 at bats.

Conforto and Nimmo were both best-suited as leftfielders. They were both right handed throwers with arms that were average at best and little range. They were both lefty bats but Conforto was the one with more power while Nimmo was a guy that worked the count, sprayed the ball to all fields, and did whatever he could to get on base. And he did.

Brandon Nimmo was always the catalyst for the New York Mets

Nimmo made himself an on-base machine and had a .404 OBP in that first full season in 2018, with a career-high 80 walks and a league-leading 22 HBP (hit by pitches). And while Conforto had played some centerfield when he first arrived, it was Nimmo who would be handed the centerfield job while the two co-habitated in the Mets outfield.

Nimmo worked hard at becoming a good centerfielder, while being a reliable, if not typical, leadoff man in the Mets lineup.

In 2019, he suffered an injury that limited him to 69 games and 254 at bats. He had the lowest batting average of his career at .221, but still maintained a .375 OBP. That was followed by the COVID-shortened 2020 season, where he rebounded to .280 with a .404 OBP in 55 games and 225 at bats.

In just 92 games in 2021, Nimmo again was at a .401 OBP and hit a career high .292. Then came the 2022 season where he had career highs in hits (159) and doubles (30) and led the league in triples with 7. His home run total was 16 (he had hit 17 in 2018) and drove in a career high 64 from the leadoff spot. But his average dropped to .274 and his OBP was down to .367.

Then came the 8-year, $162 million dollars extension for Nimmo, with the New York Mets letting go of Conforto.

Ya gotta love Brandon Nimmo simply because of what he puts out there on the field. Nobody puts in more effort. So it is difficult to put a negative spin on anything regarding his performances. But if you take a step back and really look at it, what was Nimmo’s strength is gone.

While Nimmo had begun to develop more power, it has come at the cost of the most appealing part of his game – getting on base. Since he was given that extension, Nimmo has hit .274 with a career-high 24 HR and 68 RBI, and OBP of .363. And he struck out a career-high 146 times. Not exactly bad but, again, it was trending away from his strengths.

And then in 2024, Nimmo would drop to a .224 batting average (his low was .221) with a career low OBP of .327 and career high 158 strikeouts. Yes, he hit 23 homers. But that is not really significant. What IS significant is that he lost his centerfield job because there were journeymen outfielders who were simply better at covering centerfield, and he lost the leadoff position to Francisco Lindor who is better-suited, and needed more, for the middle of the lineup.

So now looking back on what took place at the conclusion of the 2022 season, while it looks like it was the right decision to part ways with Conforto considering his performance since leaving the Mets, it may not be the best investment to have held on to Nimmo considering HIS performance since remaining with the Mets.