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Updated Post – Nov. 18, 10:20 AM

Jeff Passan of ESPN was on a Blue Jays-centric Podcast to talk about what the offseason looks like for Toronto and center fielder Brandon Nimmo was a hot topic on the show.

Here’s what Passan had to see about the type of contract Nimmo could expect to see as transcribed by Andrew Stoeten:

“I went into it thinking, OK, he’s going to get, like, $80 million. And then I was told, ‘No, no, no, no, it’s going to be nine figures.’ And I was like, $100 million? And he was like, ‘No, no, no, no, no. Keep going.” $125 million? ‘Nope.’ You know? The Shin-Soo Choo deal, which was six years and $130 or so million, is the place where I’ve landed after talking to people, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it goes higher than that.”

Choo signed the seven-year, $130 million deal (Passan wrongly said six years) back in 2013 with the Rangers at the age of 31.

Nimmo, still only 29, is coming off posting a 5.4 fWAR for the Mets in the 2022 season. That WAR value by FanGraphs ranked him behind only Aaron Judge and Mike Trout for outfielders that played a majority of their time in center field this year.

Original Post – Nov. 16, 12:13 PM

Free agent outfielder Brandon Nimmo is drawing interest from the Toronto Blue Jays, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network.

Nimmo rejected his qualifying offer from the New York Mets last week in order to hit the open market, and he has plenty of suitors as one of the best outfielders available this offseason. According to Morosi, the Seattle Mariners have already made contact with Nimmo’s representatives.

Toronto traded outfielder Teoscar Hernández to the Seattle Mariners for right-handed reliever Erik Swanson and pitching prospect Adam Macko earlier today. As a result, the Blue Jays have now freed up space in the outfield and Nimmo would give them the left-handed bat they badly need.

In total, Toronto hit .255/.326/.426/.753 with 42 home runs and 153 RBI against lefties in 2022, while Nimmo slashed .264/.358/.428/.786 against lefties last season with 12 doubles, three triples, five homers, 24 walks and 26 RBI. The lefty also excelled as a leadoff hitter for the Mets in 2022, hitting .274/.367/.433 with a .800 OPS in 673 plate appearances, to go along with 30 doubles, seven triples, 16 homers, 64 RBI and 71 walks.

Nimmo’s on-base percentage of .367 underlines his ability to put the ball in play and make things happen, and he enters free agency as one of the best outfielders available after Aaron Judge. The 29-year-old also displayed an ability to play above-average defense in center field, which only adds to his value. He would be a perfect fit for a team like Toronto who is on the rise but needs battle-hardened and proven veterans to help their young, talented core.

Nimmo compiled a 5.0 WAR in 2022 and, given that no free agent outfielder outside of Nimmo or Judge has accumulated a 2.0 fWAR over the last two seasons, it is understandable that the longtime Met would attract a lot of interest from teams needing to add both a quality bat and glove to the outfield. Nimmo proved his credentials as an elite leadoff hitter in 2022, while he boasts high-end intangibles on and off the field that are hard to replicate.

He is a natural-born leader and is starting to play some of the best baseball of his life, which is why the Mets made Nimmo one of their biggest priorities to try and re-sign this offseason. However, with the Mariners and the Blue Jays named as two of the teams with interest in the outfielder, owner Steve Cohen may have to dig extra deep into his never-ending funds in order to keep a vital piece of this roster in Queens for the 2023 season and beyond.

The post Report: Nimmo Could Get More Than $130 Million appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Photo by Westchester County Journal News

The Baseball Hall of Fame announced the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee ballot. In the common vernacular, it’s time for the Veteran’s Committee to vote on what is a highly controversial ballot likely to induce controversial results.

Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Curt Schilling are some of the most controversial players to ever appear on the ballot. Their respective controversies led to them landing on this ballot.

After that, there are a number of players with interesting cases. That is all except Don Mattingly. For his part, Mattingly has no business being on this ballot.

This is the romanticism of his career. He was a New York Yankee for his entire career. He was the only true great Yankee never to win a World Series. In fact, he’d only play in one postseason.

When you strip it all down, back injury or not, he was not close to the Hall.

Mattingly had a 42.4 WAR/35.8 WAR7/39.1 JAWS. That puts him in the same boat as Adrian González, who retired with similar numbers and had similar back injuries.

Keep in mind, no one is going to give González real Hall of Fame consideration. That’s even with him having a better WAR than Mattingly and having some postseason success.

Put Mattingly aside. The Hall of Fame was founded in 1936. In the ensuing 86 years, 25 first basemen have been inducted. They’ve averaged a 65.5 WAR/42.1 WAR7/53.8 JAWS.

Mattingly comes nowhere close to measuring up. Putting him on this ballot is a farce. It’s outright criminal when a vastly superior player in Keith Hernandez wasn’t placed on that ballot.

The Hall of Fame case for Hernandez has been well-detailed. To sum it up, Hernandez fares very favorably to contemporary first basemen recently inducted like Eddie Murray.

Aside from Bonds, he’s the only player at his position to have the most Gold Gloves at his position and not be inducted into the Hall of Fame. With respect to Bonds, that may well change, but it can’t for now with Hernandez.

Hernandez was the 1979 NL MVP. He’s won 11 Gold Gloves. He was the New York Mets’ first captain. He’s won two World Series. In sum, this should all lead to his Hall of Fame induction.

However, whoever decided to create this ballot omitted Hernandez (and other worthy candidates like Lou Whitaker) for Mattingly. It’s a farce because Hernandez was far superior.

Hernandez had a 60.3 WAR/41.3 WAR7/50.8 JAWS. His WAR was 17.9 higher than Mattingly’s. His WAR7 was 5.5 higher, and his JAWS was 11.7 higher.

What’s fascinating there is the argument for Mattingly is his prime. However, as viewed through the prism of WAR7 and JAWS, Hernandez had the better prime.

While the claim is Mattingly was the better hitter, again, the numbers don’t bear that out. Mattingly had a 127 OPS+ and 124 wRC+. Hernandez had a 128 OPS+ and a 131 wRC+.

We all know Hernandez was also the superior fielder. That means Hernandez was a better hitter and fielder. 

Put another way, Mattingly doesn’t belong in the same conversation as Hernandez. As noted, he’s in a conversation with Adrian González.

The Hall of Fame flat-out got it wrong. Omitting Hernandez in favor of Mattingly was an inexcusable error in judgment. The only hope is the next time Hernandez is eligible, this error is not repeated, and Hernandez is rightfully and finally inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The post Keith Hernandez More Hall Of Fame Worthy Than Don Mattingly appeared first on Metsmerized Online.