Brandon Nimmo has made it clear that his goal was always to return to the New York Mets, and now he wants to focus on winning a World Series with the team that drafted him.
After a career-year in many offensive categories, Nimmo entered free agency as the best outfielder available on the open market behind New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge. A host of teams, including the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays, were interested in Nimmo who also held talks with the Yankees.
However, having drafted him with the 13th overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft out of Wyoming, the Mets were determined to bring back their leadoff hitter and leader in the clubhouse and were able to get a deal done with Nimmo eventually signing an eight-year, $162 million contract. As a result, the 29-year-old should now finish his career where it started in Queens.
Nimmo was re-introduced to the media at Citi Field during a press conference on Thursday, and the outfielder touched on the special feeling he has knowing he will likely spend the rest of his major league career with the team that drafted him.
“To be able to start your career with someone, and to be able to finish your career with the same team, that’s something really, really special,” Nimmo said. Not many players get to do that. Feels good to put this jersey on and know it’s not coming off.”
Nimmo set career-high marks in 2022 in games played (151), runs (102), hits (159), RBI (64), and doubles (30). He also tied for the National League lead with seven triples and ranked fourth in the NL in runs scored, fifth in on-base percentage (.367), and 12th in walks (72). Having also improved his glove in the field, Nimmo was a hot commodity this winter but he always had his eyes on returning to a place he has made home.
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“Towards the end, the Mets just made it very, very clear that they wanted me back,” Nimmo said. “And from the beginning of last year, I’ve expressed my interest in staying here, and what it would mean to be able to finish my career being a New York Met. I’m just so thankful to be able to be coming back. Last season, we had a great season and came up a little bit short of the ultimate goal.
“I’m here to try and see it through from start to finish. This organization and the Cohens have made it very, very clear, Billy (Eppler) has made very, very clear the goal is to win here. And that’s a big reason why we decided to stick around.”
It has been no secret that the Cohen family, led by owner Steve Cohen and his wife Alex, have transformed the culture within the Mets organization. They’ve made it a place where players want to go and play, and they’ve also strived to ensure that the fans and former players feel connected to their team once again. It was widely reported that Cohen himself got involved in negotiations at the end to ensure that Nimmo did indeed remain a Met.
“The Cohens have been nothing but family to us right from the top,” Nimmo said. “And, to be honest, I think that’s something harder to find throughout the league with ownership. But the Cohens have been in it right from the beginning.”
Having lost Jacob deGrom to the Texas Rangers in free agency, Nimmo will take on an even more important role in the clubhouse in 2023 and beyond. He will also continue to be an important piece of this roster and lineup going forward as the Mets try to win a World Series. That ambition was the driving force behind Nimmo’s decision to ultimately commit the next eight years of his career to the one team he’s only ever known.
“Honestly, when I look back on it and finally get a chance to, being drafted out of Wyoming – a lot of chances had to be taken on that,” Nimmo said. “To be able to give me all the tools that I needed to kind of hone that raw ability through the minor league system to now – here we go – we’re signing this contract and gonna be in New York for the rest of our career, and wanting that to culminate in a World Series. You can’t draw it up any better than that.
“This would be – looking down the lineup, looking at the starting rotation – this is somewhere we can go and we can win, and we can continue to win. That’s always a huge motivator in free agency, is ‘where can I go and compete for a World Series Title?’ The great part is I didn’t have to go anywhere.”
