Picture by Josh Finkelstein/MMO

The New York Mets held their annual Christmas party on Wednesday afternoon, in which Brandon Nimmo was Santa Claus and J.D. Davis was dressed in an elf costume that he jokingly claimed to buy off Amazon.

After they were done handing out presents to kids in attendance, both Nimmo and Davis spoke to reporters while still wearing their holiday attire.

Here are four noteworthy takeaways from the event at Citi Field that I was fortunate enough to be there for.

1. Nimmo Expecting to Play Center Field 

Brandon Nimmo said that he “is working on controlling center field until they tell [him] otherwise.”

As of today, that obviously makes sense given that the team currently has only one other player who played the position in 2019 in Michael Conforto. However, Conforto is expected to play right field on Opening Day.

“As far as what I’ve been told, I’ve been told to work on center field until they tell me otherwise,” Nimmo added. “If I get a call and they say, ‘Hey, you’re gonna go ahead and play left or right or wherever they want me to play,’ I don’t care if they tell me to play shortstop. … Wherever they want me to be, I’ll go work on that, but right now it’s center field.”

2. Davis Prefers Third Base, Working on Defense

While J.D. Davis made it clear that he is willing to play wherever the team puts him, the infielder/outfielder admitted that his preference would be to play third base in 2020.

“I was drafted as a third baseman and came up through the minor leagues as a third baseman,” Davis said when asked about his comfort level at both positions. “So, playing left field last year was pretty much the first time I really dove into the outfield so it was a bit rough at the beginning.”

“I do feel a little more comfortable at third base just because that’s where I was drafted and it’s the position I’ve played the most games at.”

3. They Believe 2020 Could Be Special

Both Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Davis spoke very glowingly about the team’s chances in 2020.

“I still think it’s strong,” Nimmo said in response to a question about the rotation. “We were very fortunate to have 1-5 be very very good. There’s been some conversation about Seth Lugo being placed in there. I played with him all throughout the minors when he was a starter and he was just as effective as he’s been out of the bullpen.”

That, of course, was said prior to the report that Zack Wheeler would be signing with the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies.

“I think we’ll be good. Anytime you can have Jacob deGrom on top of your list, it’s pretty good,” Davis mentioned when asked a similar question. “I don’t really know what’s going on with Brodie [Van Wagenen], but I think we’ll be alright.”

“I know the offense and we’re a pretty tight-knit group and we take pride in good at-bats so we’re going to keep trying to score runs for them. …It’s gonna be exciting and I’m looking forward to a good 2020 season.”

4. Houston Astros’ Scandal Was News To Davis

When asked about the cheating allegations made against the Houston Astros from 2017, Davis seemed like he learned about the scandal at the same point most fans did.

“I honestly have no idea,” Davis said. “Sure, I was surprised by it, but I really have no idea. I was kind of like the freshman among the seniors. I really had no idea what was going on, but that’s MLB’s investigation. I haven’t gotten any calls yet.”

“I wasn’t aware of anything. I wish I was ’cause I was hitting .180 or .220 or something like that,” he added.

Davis was promoted to the majors in August of 2017 and appeared in 24 games down the stretch that season as the team went on to win the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, he was not on the Astros’ postseason roster.