Brandon Nimmo went hitless in Sunday’s loss to the Mariners, his second straight 0-for-3 day after finishing a series against the Rockies by going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.
Over the last 33 games, Nimmo is batting just .181 with a lowly .582 OPS. Nimmo entered July with an OPS of .815, but it has since dropped to .750, which would be his lowest season total since 2019, the last time he finished a season with an OPS below .800.
Nimmo’s .346 on-base percentage would be his worst since 2016, his debut season, and Sal is worried that the outfielder isn’t proving himself to be a key member of the Mets core moving forward.
“Forget about this year, because it’s much bigger than this…what is Brandon Nimmo as a player, and how does that impact what the Mets do moving forward?” Sal said. “Is he a key part of this core? I think he has to be because of the contract, but how do you rely on the production from him? What production do you rely on from Brandon Nimmo?”
Nimmo signed an eight-year, $162 million contract extension after the 2022 season, meaning he is under contract through the 2030 campaign. Sal can only hope that the Nimmo of old returns, because it would avoid a big and uncomfortable question for the Mets to ask themselves.
“Worse than losing or not making the postseason is not knowing what Brandon Nimmo is at this point,” Sal said. “That is a major problem. If Nimmo were hitting .280 and on pace for 25 home runs the way he was going into the All-Star break, at least you could say ‘They have Lindor, they have Nimmo, they have Vientos.’ The fact that you can’t even hang your hat on ‘We have a piece in Nimmo who is an impact bat,’ he’s reverted back to even worse than he was before.”