Mets-Rangers trade may signal bigger plans for New York's outfield

With Sunday's reported one-for-one trade coming together, which would send Marcus Semien to the New York Mets and Brandon Nimmo to the Texas Rangers, there could be bigger hopes for the Mets' outfield.

On Sunday, after the trade rumors started flying, Jon Heyman of The New York Post floated the idea that the Mets' trade with the Rangers involving Nimmo "could serve as an indicator that the Mets plan to pursue Kyle Tucker or Cody Bellinger, both of whom are free agents, for the outfield."

How will the Mets manage their outfield after trade with Rangers?

Tucker is considered by most MLB experts to be the top position player available for teams to pursue this offseason. Coming off a season where he posted a 143 OPS+ (100 is considered average for MLB players) while hitting 22 home runs and knocking in 73 runs for the Chicago Cubs, ESPN has predicted that Tucker will earn an 11-year, $418 million deal this offseason.

Certainly, that pricing will knock some MLB teams out of the race to sign the All-Star outfielder. However, Mets owner Steve Cohen has shown in recent offseasons that he isn't afraid to spend money, including last year when Juan Soto landed in Queens with a 15-year, $765 million contract.

Bellinger, meanwhile, is another high-ranked free agent target that is expected to draw plenty of interest and a high average annual value. The 30-year-old Bellinger posted an OPS+ of 125 in his first season with the New York Yankees, blasting 29 home runs and providing another solid option in the lineup around American League Most Valuable Player Aaron Judge.

ESPN predicts that Bellinger will ink a six-year, $165 million deal this offseason.

Nimmo posted an OPS+ of 114 last season and has a career OPS+ of 124 over his 10 seasons with the Mets. At the age of 32, both Bellinger and Tucker are younger and have posted OPS+ that are either close to Nimmo's (Bellinger has a career OPS+ of 120 in nine seasons) or better than Nimmo's (a career OPS+ of 140 in eight seasons).

If the Nimmo trade is the first step for the Mets toward boosting their outfield with one of the top free agents in this year's class, it's a bold step as the franchise hopes to refigure its lineup after finishing out of the postseason chase in 2025.