Brandon Nimmo moved from center field to left field this season, a move to accommodate the New York Mets acquisition of Harrison Bader in free agency.
Sometimes, position moves can create issues with the veteran player making the move. Nimmo had plenty of leverage, too. He signed an eight-year deal worth $162 million in December of 2022, ensuring that he would be with the Mets through 2030.
The Mets were not unhappy with Nimmo in center field. But he also grew into a power hitter in his past two seasons, with 16 home runs in 2022 and 24 home runs in 2023. That helped direct the Mets in an attempt to move Nimmo to left and find a new center fielder.
Per The Athletic, the Mets avoided issues with Nimmo by communicating with him all offseason about the move, potential candidates in center field and why they were making the move.
Nimmo admitted that, at first, he was surprised by the idea. President of baseball operations David Stearns, who was hired in October, explained the logic and the 31-year-old came around to the idea.
The logic was that Citi Field was a pitcher’s park and that they needed quality defense up the middle of the field. While Bader struggled at the plate in 2023 with the New York Yankees and the Cincinnati Reds, he was a Gold Glove center fielder with St. Louis in 2021.
Nimmo’s attitude was simple.
“I said if it will make us better as a team for making the playoffs, that’s why I’m here,” Nimmo said. “If you feel like that’s what we need, I’ll be all-in on that.”
The move has worked out for both of them. While Nimmo is batting .216 in his first 30 games, he has also driven in 20 runs. Bader is having a resurgent year at the plate, with a .281 average in 26 games.
And, on days when Bader doesn’t play, Nimmo slides back to center field. So, everyone wins — including the Mets.
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