Brandon Nimmo spoke with Tim Healey of Newsday about his neck issues that developed last season which sidelined him for much of the year. While he’s feeling better now, those issues are still something he’ll have to work through going forward.
“It’s something I’ll have the rest of my life, which is fine,” Nimmo said. “Day-to-day life is fine. For the baseball field, I gotta do my rehab, do my strengthening, do my mobility exercises.”
“From what I understand, most people as you go through life end up having these things [bulging discs],” Nimmo added. “Unfortunately for me, part of my job description was I need to run as fast as I can that way while looking back [the opposite] way.”
The outfielder’s return to the team in September was big for both him and the Mets as they tried to make the playoffs. In 26 games that month, the 26-year-old hit .261/.430/.565 with five home runs and 15 RBI to give himself an elite 159 wRC+.
“Being able to have the September that I had and being able to help produce and show that hey, when I’m healthy, I’m the same guy as I was — that was big for me and that was big for the team,” Nimmo noted. “It’s better for me to be on the field than on the bench. That’s the great takeaway from that injury.”
That certainly gave the team and himself more comfort about his future as he was not playing nearly as well prior to going on the 10-day IL in May. Before being placed on it, Nimmo was hitting .200/.344/.323 with three home runs and 14 RBI to give himself a subpar 88 wRC+
The hope will be that Nimmo won’t need to be sidelined this season due to his neck injuries, but it appears very clear from his performance in September that when he’s healthy, he can be a major contributor at the top of the order.
