Photo by Chris Simon

The upcoming season is a critical one for the New York Mets as an organization. It’s also critical for a number of players, especially those on the verge of free agency. While it was reported recently that the Mets are interested in discussing an extension, outfielder Brandon Nimmo is among that group of players.

For the past couple of years, I’ve been noticing how Michael Conforto had quickly launched his way up the franchise leaderboards in a number of categories. But he’s currently a free agent, and is almost surely signing elsewhere for 2022 and beyond. In paying attention to how he’s been climbing the leaderboards, I was ignoring the work Nimmo has been doing in his own right.

However, it was easy to not realize this because of his situation. Before doing it in 2021, he only put together one year with more than 2.0 fWAR, and he hasn’t appeared in more than 100 games since his breakout 2018 season.

He’s just been consistently productive in the time he’s on the field, and it’s paying off in the form of his standing in Mets history.

Where He Ranks In Franchise History

Many Mets fans are well aware of Nimmo’s prowess for getting on base and how his ability to do so compares to the rest of baseball since he debuted in 2016. Since the moment he registered his first plate appearance as a big leaguer, the 28-year-old has put together a career .393 on-base percentage and a 14.9% walk rate.

Nimmo’s walk rate is among the top-15 of qualified hitters in baseball since 2016, and his on-base percentage ranks sixth, as he’s just ahead of Aaron Judge and right behind Bryce Harper. His career wRC+ of 134 is among the top-30 hitters in the game during this period of time. That’s not bad company to be in, I’d say.

While these numbers and rankings are excellent, I hadn’t taken the time to see where they currently rank in Mets history. Until now, of course.

When viewing franchise leaderboards, Nimmo is currently only looking up to John Olerud in both walk rate (15.2%) and on-base percentage (.425). So, it’s not as if the outfielder’s offensive approach and on-base skills are among the best in today’s game, but they’re also among the best the Mets have ever seen as an organization altogether. When the conversation changes to Nimmo’s career wRC+, he’s rubbing elbows with some franchise royalty. Heading into 2022, he’s tied with Mike Piazza for the fifth-best mark in Mets history. The only guys ahead of him? Olerud (146), Darryl Strawberry (143), Pete Alonso (136), and Yoenis Cespedes (135).

Last, but most certainly not least, I was intrigued to see where Nimmo’s career fWAR of 12.2 ranks all-time among Mets outfielders. Strawberry (35.5) and Carlos Beltrán (29.3) are in a league of their own, but the rest of the top 10 are bunched closely together. Nimmo is currently ninth on this leaderboard, with Lenny Dykstra (14.0), Tommie Agee (14.9), and Kevin McReynolds (15.1) all within earshot this upcoming season.

Nimmo has found himself here despite playing in just 457 games and accumulating 1,695 plate appearances. Outside of Dykstra (544 games, 1,908 plate appearances), all the players ahead of Nimmo have played in at least 650 games while accruing 2,500-plus plate appearances for New York.

Vital Part of 2022 Offense

Prior to the lockout taking hold, it was clear that general manager Billy Eppler and Co. were determined to raise the performance level of New York’s offense. If this team is going to be successful and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016, the offense must put together an OPS higher than .705 and score more than 636 runs in a season, both of which ranked within the bottom third of the league.

Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha will both help with raising the offense’s overall performance in a few different ways, but pairing Starling Marte with Nimmo at the top of the everyday lineup will be critical to this unit’s success.

The bottom line is that the Mets have to score runs, even if the pitching staff is among the best in baseball. I mean, just ask Jacob deGrom how easy it’s been to win games despite barely ever giving up runs. In order to score more runs, the Mets obviously need guys on base to make things happen. Hopefully, Marte ends up being the perfect complement to Nimmo in providing the ultimate table-setting tandem before guys like Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso step up to the plate.

At the moment, both Steamer and ZiPS projections are expecting Nimmo to keep up his reputation for getting on base at a high clip. Steamer is tabbing him for a .376 on-base percentage, 86 runs scored, and a 3.4 fWAR, while ZiPS has him at .381, 53, and 2.8, respectively.

The Biggest Key For Him

So what exactly could keep Nimmo — a brand new Scott Boras client — from having a solid walk year before potentially hitting free agency next winter? Well, the answer seems simple right now: he needs to stay healthy for the majority of the upcoming regular season.

Nimmo’s breakout performance in 2018 is still the only time he’s played in more than 100 games in one year (he played in 140 and accrued 535 plate appearances). Obviously, nobody could play in more than 60 games during 2020, but he appeared in just 69 in 2019 and 92 last season.

The Mets need players in their lineup who can consistently get on base so the middle of the order can do its job with runners on base and runners in scoring position. Nimmo already gives New York that opportunity — he just needs to do it more often than he already does by staying in the lineup consistently.