Sal Licata of WFAN feels that Brandon Nimmo needs to take the lead as the team’s leader if the Mets are to prosper.
As the de facto team leader, Licata, who also presents “Baseball Night in New York” on SNY, urged on the native Mets to surpass Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso on Wednesday.
“It is abundantly clear to me that Brandon Nimmo is the leader of this team,” Licata said, via Audacy. “Nimmo has shown this since he’s been here, but maybe now more than ever ready to take that next step.
“I believe the big personalities of Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor have gotten in the way of Nimmo being the true leader and eventual captain of this team.”
2011 saw the Mets choose Nimmo in the first round. He joined the major league team in 2015 and has been with them ever since.
Upon achieving batting.274/.367/.433 with 53 extra-base hits in 2022—including a league-high seven triples and 16 home runs—he was rewarded with an eight-year, $162 million contract that would keep him with the Mets until 2030, when he would turn 37.
Nimmo, who is starting his tenth season with the organization, has a career.Among batters with at least 2,500 plate appearances since 2016, his batting average of 270, on-base percentage of.380, and WRC+ of 132 rank eighth and ninth in MLB, respectively.
Nimmo has maintained his health over the past two seasons, setting career highs in games played in 2022 (151) and 2023 (152). He was assisted in this area by some advise from his former colleague Jay Bruce, who advised him to “play smarter, not harder.”
Licata says, “There’s no reason Nimmo can’t become the leader this team needs if he can stay healthy and continue to produce like one of the best outfielders in the game.
“For this team to have the ultimate success moving forward, their core group, Brandon Nimmo has to be the guy to be the clear leader, and eventually be named captain of the New York Mets.”