Could Brandon Nimmo be Traded This Offseason?

Coming off an injury-riddled 2019 campaign, Brandon Nimmo was hoping to bounce back strong during his fifth season in the major leagues and help the New York Mets make a competitive run at qualifying for the playoffs. And the 27-year old nearly helped his team accomplish both of those goals in 2020.

While the Mets ultimately fell short of the postseason, they did receive a quality performance from the veteran outfielder, as he was able to enjoy plenty of success at the plate over the 60-game shortened season. That being said, this offseason could bring some significant changes to this squad, as they appear to have too many players and not enough positions to go around for everyone.

Taking into account the club’s goal to improve its overall defense, which must be a top priority, it’d be wise for the front office to acquire a reliable centerfielder this winter. With that in mind, that would likely result in subtracting one of either Jeff McNeil, Michael Conforto, or Nimmo from the current roster before the start of next season.

Since Conforto is an integral part of the Mets’ core, the team’s longest-tenured position player probably won’t find himself on the trading block this offseason, especially since he’s likely to receive a long-term extension in the near future. As for McNeil, the 2019 breakout star probably isn’t being moved either, as he won’t become eligible for arbitration until next offseason and won’t hit free agency until after the 2024 campaign.

Based on those factors, along with Nimmo scheduled to become a free agent following the 2022 season, it seems the former first-round pick might be suiting up for another organization when players report to training camp next spring. Adding to this, the 6-foot-3 outfielder has struggled mightily in centerfield ever since he made his MLB debut in 2016 and that could also play a huge factor in his potential departure from New York.

This season in particular, the Cheyenne East HS product’s defensive woes reached an all-time high over his small sample size of work, as the former top prospect committed two errors (tied for most among all centerfielders who played at least 300 innings), and recorded a -4 OAA (tied for second-worst), -5 DRS (tied for third-fewest), along with the worst UZR (-4.1) and UZR/150 (-19.2) through his 308 1/3 innings in centerfield, according to FanGraphs.com.

Despite being developed as a centerfielder throughout his minor-league career, there’s no question Nimmo is better suited for a corner outfield position, but the Mets don’t exactly have an open spot available with Conforto and McNeil currently occupying those spots. Since the Wyoming native is too valuable to be utilized as a fourth outfielder, it’d make more sense to swap him for a player who could help address one of the several needs the Mets must address before this offseason concludes.

So what could the front office acquire in exchange for the talented outfielder? And which teams could be a potential match for him? Well, the list of trading partners who could have an interest in the left-handed batter is relatively short, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be moved sometime over the next few months.

As of right now, it seems the Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Houston Astros are three teams who might draw the most attention in Nimmo, as each of them could significantly benefit from adding a quality corner outfielder before next season begins. Depending on the Mets’ views about trading inside the NL East division, the Atlanta Braves could be another potential suitor if veteran Nick Markakis departs through free agency this winter.

Considering the Indians, Brewers, and Braves all feature plenty of starting pitching and bullpen depth, there’s a very good chance the front office could land an impact arm or two in return for the speedy outfielder. But if they complete a trade with the Astros, the Mets could acquire a package of players including versatile infielder Abraham Toro, who has the potential of developing into a quality hitter and is capable of playing at third, second, and first base.

Whoever acquires Nimmo this offseason, for the right price of course, they’ll be adding a player who can be relied on to generate a ton of walks, plenty of contact, along with a surprising amount of extra-base power as well. Taking into account his production from this past season, as long as he’s healthy, “Nimms” shouldn’t have any issues replicating his results over a full 162-game 2021 campaign.

Through 55 games in 2020, No. 9 earned 225 plate appearances, producing eight doubles, eight home runs, 18 RBIs, .204 ISO, .326 BABIP (19th-highest among all qualified outfielders), .387 wOBA (ninth-highest), 14.7% walk rate (eighth-highest), 19.1% strikeout rate (16th-lowest), 20.4% LD rate, 47.2% GB rate, 32.4% FB rate, 7.7% barrel rate (career-high), 32.2% hard-hit rate, 148 wRC+ score (11th-highest), 1.5 fWAR rating (tied for 12th-highest), and a slashing line of .280 (18th-highest)/.404 (sixth-highest)/.484 (21st-highest)/.888 (12th-highest).

With free agency opening next week, these next couple of months should prove to be very eventful for the Mets, as billionaire Steve Cohen is expected to officially take over ownership very shortly and former general manager Sandy Alderson is reportedly set to rejoin the club in the near future as well. As a result, there’s a strong chance this team will likely experience several changes over the winter and could look very different once spring training begins in February.