Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo is currently in Los Angeles awaiting a second opinion from Dr. Robert Watkins regarding the bulging cervical disk in his neck.
Nimmo, who was originally believed to have been suffering from nothing more than inflammation in late-May, was scratched from his last rehab game on Friday after experiencing more soreness in his neck. Skipper Mickey Callaway told reporters that the outfielder had been dealing with the “same issue” that had plagued him through much of his last month on a big-league field. In the five rehab games he played in, Nimmo went 2-for-14 with a triple and six walks.
Dr. Watkins was David Wright‘s go-to specialist in late-2015 as well as early-2016 as the captain was dealing with back and neck problems, respectively. Watkins was the surgeon who ultimately diagnosed Wright with spinal stenosis, and has operated on such respected athletes as Don Mattingly, Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzky, and Peyton Manning.
Nimmo was placed on the 10-day injured list since May 25 (retroactive to the 21st) with whiplash that could be attributed all the way back to an incident on April 14 in which he crashed into a SunTrust Park wall. Though he had been on a .231/.432/.346 string with 10 RBI in his last 10 games, the overall numbers have been underwhelming. The Wyoming native has hit just .200/.344/.323 with 48 strikeouts in 161 trips to the plate.
