There was a subtle change in the New York Mets defensive positioning on Wednesday night in their loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates with Michael Conforto in left field and Brandon Nimmo in center field.
That is an arrangement we’re likely to see more often going forward according to manager Mickey Callaway, “We just had some conversations with those guys, and I really feel those guys feel little bit more comfortable in those positions.”
Conforto entered last night with only two starts in left and four in right field while playing 55 games in center. The numbers certainly back up Conforto being a corner outfielder with 14 defensive runs saved there in 1550 innings (1400 in LF) and -9 defensive runs saved in 862 innings of center field play. He also has -2.3 UZR during his career in center compared to 7.3 in left and 2.1 in right.
On the other hand, Nimmo has played a majority (38 starts) in the corners over center (10 starts) this season. Nimmo has -3 DRS and -0.7 UZR in 166 big league in center, 1 DRS/2.0 UZR in 569 innings as left field and -2 DRS/0.8 UZR as a right fielder in 246 major league innings.
The 25-year-old Nimmo certainly has more experience in center with almost 4000 minor league innings at the position while Conforto made his first pro start in center as a major leaguer in 2016.
One thing to note, which was mentioned by the Gary Cohen on the broadcast last night, is Nimmo (given more experience in center) is more aggressive on balls in the gap compared to Conforto. Michael is passive at times which can lead to miscommunication with corner outfielders when he’s in center.
Nimmo is in the middle of a breakout offensive season with a .952 OPS while Conforto has a .743 OPS this year after a big 2017 season.
