Updated by Joe D
Mike Puma spoke with Brandon Nimmo’s father Ron who say’s Mets and his son are no closer than they were in June.
[blackbirdpie url=https://twitter.com/#!/NYPost_Mets/status/102845104976445440]
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/NYPost_Mets/status/102844838378094592″]
Not sure if these quotes are legit or if Puma misquoted him. (sarcasm)
Original Post 3::00 PM
According to Adam Rubin of ESPN NY, a Mets official expressed confidence a deal with first-round pick Brandon Nimmo, a high school outfielder from Wyoming, will be completed and announced by Monday night’s deadline.
The Mets have until midnight on Monday to sign Nimmo or lose him. The Mets selected the 18 year old outfielder with the 13th overall pick in the June amateur draft.
, the Mets selected 18 year old OF Brandon Nimmo, a left-handed power from Wyoming.
Varying reports say that the left-handed power prospect wants a signing bonus somewhere between $2.5 and $3.5 million dollars, and that the bonus has been the main sticking point to finalizing a deal.
Last year, 2010 first round selection Matt Harvey signed the day before the deadline for $2.5 million.
For more on Nimmo read on…
Kevin Kernan of the NY Post has a great piece up that you’ll certainly want to check out. Kernan catches up with Nimmo at his home in Wyoming, and it’s quite apparent that there’s more to this kid Nimmo than the fact he had no baseball program at his school or that he was a big reach by the Mets.
First of all, Nimmo exudes confidence and tremendous raw ability.
“I definitely think I’m ready for pro ball,” Nimmo says. “I’ve got a good support system with my family. I’m excited. Playing baseball is what I love, that’s been my dream ever since I was a little kid. I want to make it to New York as quick as possible and please everyone in New York and be an All-Star and be all that stuff everyone wants from their first-rounder.”
That definitely goes beyond the standard clichés you get from players after they’ve been selected. Nimmo sees himself as a future star and isn’t afraid to tell everyone.
One thing that was a bit eye-opening was a quote by Post Six American Legion Coach, Tagg Lain, who sees Nimmo as ultimately becoming a cross between Paul O’Neill and Josh Hamilton. He also makes this claim:
“I’ve coached Bryce Harper in the Tournament of Stars,” says Lain, who has coached 18 years and has won nine of the last 10 American Legion state championships with Post Six. “That’s when I told tournament officials that I’ve got a guy who is that close to Bryce. There is not a huge gap between those two guys.”
Think about that for a minute…
Mets exec J.P. Ricciardi sees big things in Nimmo’s future.
“There’s so many things to like about him,” says the Mets J.P. Ricciardi, the former Toronto GM who is special assistant to Sandy Alderson. “But I really like the fact that he is so smart. That’s going to go a long way.”
Nimmo was somebody that Paul DePodesta and his scouting team desperately wanted. They knew he would be a reach when the Mets selected him with their top pick (13th overall), but they were convinced he wouldn’t be there by the time they selected again and they were not going to let him slip through their fingers. I totally respect why the Mets went this way.
There is a lot too like and to be excited about.
