Mets outfielder Brandon Nemo They agreed a deal that would see him return to Queens, according to reports Joel Sherman from the New York Post. It will be an eight-year, $162 million deal. Sherman Add That Nimmo will have a no-trade clause.
Nemo, March 30 Most observers consider him the #2 best outfielder in the free agent market this winter, behind Aaron Judge but also ahead of everyone else. Nimmo is nowhere near Judge in terms of power, having only had 63 home runs in his seven-year career, while Judge hit 62 in 2022 alone.
Despite this lack of power, Nimmo stood out from the rest of the players in the market for several reasons. One is his ability to play center field and the second is his ability to get to base. For his career, which began in 2016, he had a walk average of 13.6% and 0.385 percent on a percentage basis. Only 17 eligible hitters have a better walk average at that time while only seven have a better OBP. His career hitting streak is currently .269/.385/.441, resulting in 134 wRC+, indicating that he was 34% better than the league batting average.
This level of production would be welcome in any position but is especially valuable in the position field, where many teams are looking for promotions. Nimmo was unsurprisingly popular as a free agent, receiving public interest from the Blue Jays, Giants, Yankees, Rays, and Mariners, with others interested as well. But it will be the Mets, the franchise that drafted Nimmo 13th overall in 2011, to keep him. Even before the offseason really began, it was mentioned That the Mets were prioritizing keeping Nemo and closer Edwin Diaz, they’ve now been successful on both fronts.
The deal is not without risks, however, as Nemo has spent his share of time on the injured list. In his career, he landed at IL due to a hamstring strain, collapsed lung, neck trouble and a bruised finger. Because of these various ailments, he has only twice lost 100 games in a season. Most of those injuries are from a few years in the past at this point, as Nemo has stayed healthy in the shortened 2020 season, playing 92 games in 2021 and then 151 games this year. This means that he has been healthy for the vast majority of the past three seasons. However, this deal exceeded expectations in terms of length and warranty. MLBTR signed a five-year, $110 million deal, but Nemo got three more years and an additional $52 million, meaning that deal would take him to his 37-year-old season.
More is coming.