Grading the NY Mets-Rangers trade of Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien

You take your fussy son to Barnes & Noble only to pack a book about monster trucks into your car and see a notification. Brandon Nimmo has been traded by the New York Mets to the Texas Rangers for…not Corey Seager…Marcus Semien.

What has he been up to? You know he has won a few Gold Gloves. You also know the Rangers have had some ups and downs with him. Meanwhile, Nimmo is one of the more beloved Mets players whose downs haven’t been so deep in the tank.

It hasn’t fully digested yet. Swimming right now would cause Mets fans to cramp. Still, we need to pass out a quick grade, right?

Give this trade a B+ because of what it probably means next for the Mets

This wasn’t the roster-altering move for the Mets. More is in store. Moving on from Nimmo’s contract, paying him $20.5 million over the next five seasons, opens up more financial flexibility in the future. Semien is earning $26 million in each of the next two years with $20 million in 2028. Financially not all that significant, the biggest alteration is it means Jeff McNeil is most assuredly gone and the Mets roster is going to look far different than it did in 2025.

Opening up left field gives the Mets more of a reason to move Juan Soto there. Immediately, he has a chance to improve defensively. With right field now vacant, the Mets can do something as silly as sign Kyle Tucker or look at any other number of right fielders. Adolis Garcia was just released. Coming with some questions of his own on both sides of the ball, it does at least seem like a reasonable low-risk, high-reward option.

The heart doesn’t want to give this trade a good grade. The head says otherwise. Semien just won a Gold Glove in 2025 and has regularly been one of the best defensive players in the game. It’s clear what the aim was for this trade. Add a right-handed hitter who has averaged 25 home runs and 80 RBI per 162 games and ask him to bring his glove along.

This trade seems less about moving money and more about the alterations the Mets can do with the rest of the roster. As sad as it is to see Nimmo go, the door swung wide open for so much more. Semien just fits the Mets better too as a right-handed hitter on a team full of lefties. Nimmo's lack of hitting at the top of the order felt funky even if he was producing runs.

Once more, David Stearns gets the benefit of the doubt that he'll do something to make this trade worthwhile. This is the kind of trade that can make or break his offseason, reputation, and perception.