Why the Mets long-term contract with Brandon Nimmo will be worth it

The New York Mets made a big splash on Thursday evening as they came to terms on an agreement with Brandon Nimmo on an eight-year, $162 million contract, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Nimmo was one of the most high profile free agents in this year's class, and was expected to get a huge offer because of the lack of depth on the market, and cashes in on an outstanding 2022 season. Nimmo's $162 million contract is the second largest deal handed out to the Mets in total value behind Francisco Lindor's $341 million pact signed right before Opening Day 2021.

Brandon Nimmo is a one-of-a-kind leadoff hitter that the Mets simply couldn't afford to lose, which justifies the $20 million per year deal.

Earlier this week, I wrote on here about comparing the Mets' situation to Nimmo to the Cubs' situation with Dexter Fowler six years ago. And I said the Cubs would not have won a championship without a strong table setter at the top of their lineup in Fowler. The Mets offense just has a totally different dynamic when Brandon Nimmo is at the top of that lineup.

His plate discipline and approach at the plate is one of the best for what he does. The amount of times the Mets got the opposing starting pitcher to 20 or more pitches in the first inning last season was unreal, and much of that success was because of Nimmo taking long at-bats and making contact. Such success wearing down the opposition's starter was a big reason the Mets scored so many runs and won 101 games in 2022.

His on-base prowess was irreplaceable for the Mets, so the Mets had to show him the money.

Brandon Nimmo's surprising improvement in outfield defense helped the Mets to solve their five-year long center field problem.

There were so many questions about the Mets' outfield defense since Juan Lagares began to regress due to injuries. And many doubted Nimmo's ability to play center field at a high level. But Nimmo answered all the critics last year, highlighted by one magical catch to preserve a victory for Jacob deGrom against the Dodgers on August 31.

Nimmo ranked in the 90th percentile last year in outs above average and 89th percentile in 2021.

Brandon Nimmo is as good a teammate as you can have.

Nimmo is known by fans, players, and coaches to be a great hustler, as he won the team's Heart and Huscle award in 2018 and 2022, and played through some injuries last year, including injuries to his wrist and quad. But he realized availability was the best ability for him going forward, and his returns gave temporary creedence to what was real for the Mets last year, doing what it took to win. They fell short of that goal, but it benefited Nimmo's value in the eyes of Steve Cohen and Billy Eppler.

Nimmo has been so good with the media and the fans, ever since he was Sandy Alderson's first draft pick as Mets' general manager, the 13th pick in the 2011 draft out of Wyoming, where no high school baseball is offered in the stateNimmo said at the Queens Baseball Convention five years ago that he wanted to be a New York Met for life. With the reports of his new deal that takes him to his age-37 season, he stayed true to his word, and makes this signing that much more special.

And now as he gets older, he becomes one of the veterans the young guys (and some of them are coming up over the next two or three seasons) can look up to for advice both on the field, in the dugout, and off the field. And he will be great at that.

So yeah, Brandon Nimmo is worth every single penny to the New York Mets.