For the last three seasons, Brandon Nimmo has been an outstanding center fielder for the New York Mets. Despite his impressive play, the Mets have added two elite players to his position, which means head coach Carlos Mendoza will have to make a difficult decision.
The coaching staff of the Mets decided to switch players from center to left field. Nimmo accepted his upcoming new duty with the poise of a real team member.
Brandon Nimmo of the Mets is prepared to start in left field next year.
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweeted this comment from Nimmo, indicating that he was prepared to prioritize winning above everything else:
“I told him, ‘Honestly, my goal at this point in my career is to win a World Series. If you think that creating a better outfield defense or adding these guys to our roster is going to help our chances of winning a World Series, then I’ll do whatever it takes to do that,’” Nimmo said. “I kind of just put my trust in him that if you think this will make us better, fine by me.”
Nimmo will be positioned close to Harrison Bader, the 2021 Gold Glove winner, who will replace Nimmo in the middle of the outfield, which will help their chances of winning the World Series.
Fortunately, Nimmo is accustomed to his new role. Despite the small sample size of 121 innings, he has manged left field 20 times since 2021, recording a perfect fielding % and a flawless record in terms of errors.
What Nimmo’s move to left field will mean for the Mets defensively
Stoutness is what the Mets need with their backup defense. The Mets last season trailed only the Atlanta Braves in the NL East despite committing 88 errors as a team.
Baseball Savant gave Bader’s arm strength a score of 91.7, which put him in the 91st percentile compared to Nimmo’s score of 84, which put him in the 40th. Bader demonstrated his strength at the position with a fielding run value that was in the 93rd percentile.
Nimmo will have plenty of chances to clean up hits that are directed to his side of the field because the league is full of right-handed hitters. The goal for the Mets is to outperform their 75-87 record from the previous season. They are counting on the adjustment in the outfield to serve as a spark for improvement.