Mets plan to play Brandon Nimmo at different position this season

The Mets plan to move Brandon Nimmo from center field to left field for the 2024 season at least, manager Carlos Mendoza revealed to reporters on Monday. (link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). The outfield shuffle comes on the heels of New York’s offseason signing of Harrison Bader on a one-year, $10.5M contract.

The move is hardly unexpected, given that Bader ranks as one of the sport’s top defenders in center, but it’s still notable just one year after Nimmo’s ability to handle center field was a contributing factor in the team’s decision to re-sign him on an eight-year, $162M contract. President of baseball operations David Stearns suggested last month that a specific outfield alignment had not yet been settled upon, but the Mets will go with what looked to be the most probable option. With Bader on a one-year pact, it’s possible Nimmo will end up patrolling center again in the near future — and he could do so as soon as this season in the event of an injury to Bader. But for the time being, Mendoza made clear the plan is an alignment of Nimmo in left, Bader in center and Starling Marte in right field on most days.

Mendoza praised Nimmo’s openness to the move. Nimmo himself told DiComo and others that Stearns asked him early in the offseason about his willingness to move to a corner, should the team sign a free-agent center fielder with plus defensive skills. “I told him, ‘Honestly, my goal at this point in my career is to win a World Series. If you think that creating a better outfield defense or adding these guys to our roster is going to help our chances of winning a World Series, then I’ll do whatever it takes to do that,'” Nimmo said.

On paper, it should give the Mets a strong defensive group on the grass. Nimmo’s defensive grades in center field took a step back in ’23, but Statcast and Ultimate Zone Rating both pegged him as roughly average. (Defensive Runs Saved was more bearish, casting his glovework as a negative.) Bader ranks fourth among all big league players, regardless of position, in Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric, dating back to the 2018 season. DRS has him tied for 18th among all MLB players in that same span. Marte posted negative grades in 2023 but was also hobbled by a groin strain in addition to missing time with migraines. At 35, he’s likely lost a step or two, but Marte previously graded as an elite left fielder — so a return to at least solid glovework in right field shouldn’t be out of the question.

In all likelihood, Nimmo will play some center this year. Bader has been on the injured list seven times in the past three seasons (once the Covid-related IL, but the 10-day IL on six other occasions). In that span, he’s dealt with a fractured rib, plantar fasciitis and strains of his groin, oblique and hamstring. As is common with many elite defenders in center, the devil-may-care attitude with which Bader approaches his craft leaves him susceptible to IL stints. The reckless abandon required to crash into a wall at full speed or layout for spectacular diving grabs leads to plenty of highlight reel appearances but also plenty of bumps and bruises (if not worse).

In the big picture, the Mets’ outfield alignment could continue to change in the short term. Outfielder Drew Gilbert, acquired from the Astros in the Justin Verlander trade, is widely considered to be among the game’s top 100 prospects and could push for a spot in the majors this season. He’s a center fielder with a real chance to stick at the position. Next year’s free agent class in center is pretty thin — unless Cody Bellinger signs a deal that allows him to opt back into free agency next winter — though if the Bader fit works out, it’s always possible the two parties explore a longer-term fit.