2024 Mets Report Card: Brandon Nimmo, OF

Brandon Nimmo, OF

Player Data: Age: 31 (03/27/1993), B/T: L/R
Traditional Stats: 151 G, 663 PA, .224/.327/.399/.727, 128 H, 23 HR, 90 RBI
Advanced Stats: 109 wRC+, 23.8 K%, 11.6 BB%, .267 BABIP, .337 xwOBA, 2.7 fWAR, 2.2 bWAR
2024 Salary: $20.5 million

Grade: B-

2024 Review

Brandon Nimmo‘s 2024 season was a tale of two stories, and well, halves. Up until the All-Star Game, Nimmo was the hottest hitter for the Mets, coming through in clutch moments left and right. However, post-All-Star Game, things took a sharp turn for the worse, with the longest-tenured Met looking like a shell of his first-half self. Then, come playoff time, Nimmo dug deep, fighting through a reaggravated case of plantar fasciitis, and coming through once more for his team. All in all, it was a season to remember for Nimmo despite his second-half struggles.

As noted above, his first-half and second-half of 2024 were night and day. Up until the All-Star break, Nimmo hit .248/.361/.454 with 16 home runs, 18 doubles, 63 RBIs and 59 runs through 399 plate appearances. Notably, his hottest stretch came between June 14 and July 14. In that month, Nimmo slashed an absurd .321/.410/.642 with nine home runs, 31 RBIs, seven doubles, and 26 runs scored. He was ultimately snubbed once more from the Midsummer Classic. Then, after the All-Star Game, Nimmo hit a grim .190/.277/.319 with only seven home runs, 27 RBIs, seven doubles and 29 runs scored in 264 plate appearances.

The biggest homer of Brandon Nimmo’s career!!! pic.twitter.com/rGe2n49LUi

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) September 30, 2024

While it was a head-scratching season for Nimmo, he finished with a 2.4 fWAR compared to 4.2 in 2023 and 5.4 in 2022, he still ranked in the 91st percentile (25) in batting run value in all of baseball. In addition, he ranked in the 89th percentile in exit velocity (91.9%), 83rd percentile in hard-hit percentage (47.4%), 78th percentile in chase percentage (24.1%), and 91st percentile in walk percentage (11.6%).

Nimmo simply ran into some bad luck at the plate at the end of the day. His BABIP (batting average on balls in play) was a career-low at .267, compared to .324 in 2023 and .317 in 2022. While his expected batting average (xBA) was .247, his expected weighted on-base percentage (xwOBA) was .337, ten points higher than his on-base percentage. Also, his expected slugging percentage (xSLG) was .419, while in the 56th percentile, was still tens of points higher than his actual.

Despite rough waters in the second half, Nimmo’s 109 wRC+ and 107 OPS+ in 2024 were above the 100 league average. Never a threat on the bases, Nimmo’s 28.0 ft/sec sprint speed was above league-average (27 ft/sec), and he did steal a career-high 15 bases.

In 2024, Nimmo also saw a shift from center field to left field. While he excelled in center, especially in 2022 and 2023 (1 and 6 outs above average, respectively), Nimmo recorded 0 outs above average (OAA) in 2024 in left field. His defensive run value (DRS) was measured at a negative one in 2024, compared to one in 2023 and four in 2022 while playing center field.

During the postseason, Nimmo revealed he reaggravated his plantar fasciitis, something he’d been dealing with since May, which slowed him down in the field during the Mets’ October run. It’s unknown, if at all, how much it played a role in 2024.

2025 Preview

Nimmo will enter the third year of his eight-year, $162 million contract he signed with the Mets in the 2022 offseason. The Mets’ outfield centerpiece moved from center to left in 2024, and President of Baseball Operations David Stearns noted he expects Nimmo to remain in left field. Stearns commented the Mets will explore the trade market or free agency to fill center or turn to Tyrone Taylor who made an impact in 2024.

There’s no indication Nimmo’s quiet second-half in 2024 will carry into 2025. Steamer projects Nimmo to hit .252/.346/.417 in 2025, smashing 19 home runs and driving in 72 RBIs. While these are just projections, all signs point upward for Nimmo. According to MLB’s Anthony DiComo, Nimmo will receive platelet-rich plasma injections in the offseason, which team officials and Nimmo hope will solve the plantar fasciitis issue.

He continues to be an on-base magnet, and while some of his woes in 2024 might be a result of being shuffled from his typical leadoff spot with Francisco Lindor‘s emergence, he also struggled against right-hand pitchers more than usual. A lifetime .260/.376/.452 hitter against righties, Nimmo only hit .215/.329/.400 against them in 2024. Meanwhile, he hit .248/.324/.399 against southpaws as a career .265/.358/.406 batter against them.

Assuming all goes according to play with the PRP injection for his foot, Nimmo should return to form in 2025. Now that he’s grown accustomed to left field expect to see Nimmo produce highlight-reel-worthy plays as he enters his prime.

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