The New York Mets have agreed to an eight-year, $162 million contract with outfielder Brandon Nimmo. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Nimmo, 29, enjoyed a brief foray into free agency and attracted interest from teams as diverse as the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays. Nonetheless, he would go back to being the only franchise he ever played professionally in.Baseball, according to his reference calculations, in seven big leagues during some of his seasons, he batted .269 / .385 / .441. (130 OPS+) with 17.2 wins.
Going into the offseason, CBS Sports ranked Nimmo as the 7th best free agent on the market. Here is what I wrote at the time:
Juan Soto. Freddie Freeman. Bryce Harper. Aaron Judge. Paul Goldschmidt. What do the five players have in common?They’re the only hitters to record at least his 1,000 at-bats and get to base more often than Nemo during the pandemic era. Not only is he a high on-base percentage, he’s also improved as a center fielder and a platoon-unfavored hitter, and the past two seasons have represented two of his three season-best performances against southpaws. increase. If his shirt has stains on it, it’s his durability. He is the only two times Nimmo has appeared in his 100-plus games (three when he prorates the 2020 campaign to 162 games). While age doesn’t tend to improve physical endurance, Nemo’s top-of-the-line bat and midfield gloves should earn him a lucrative long-term contract anyway.
Nemo is the latest addition to what has been a busy week for the Mets. They also added starting pitchers Justin Verlander and Jose Quintana to replace free-agent starters Jacob deGrom (Rangers) and Tyjuan Walker (Phillies). The Mets completed a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday and also acquired left-handed reliever Brooks Reilly.
It looks like the Mets aren’t done yet. Rather, it seems they’re still in the market for another starter, whether it’s Chris Basitt, Koudai Senga, or someone else.