Brandon Nimmo sits with stiff neck, could miss Mets' opener
The Mets' Brandon Nimmo tosses his bat after drawing a walk during the first inning of the team's spring training game against the Marlins on Sunday in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: AP/Sue Ogrocki
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — On the brink of another season, Brandon Nimmo is dealing with another physical issue.
He developed a stiff neck over the weekend, so he sat out Monday and will do so again Tuesday, when the Mets finish spring training. Manager Buck Showalter is hoping Nimmo will be ready for the season opener on Thursday.
“We could push it, but we’re not going to,” Showalter said, later revealing that Nimmo had this problem early in camp, too, but it passed quickly.
In 2019, Nimmo had what the Mets thought was a stiff neck but turned out to be a bulging cervical disc. It wound up costing him more than half of the season.
“I got the history on that,” Showalter said. “That’s why we’re being cautious with it.”
This is an important year for Nimmo, who is penciled in as the Mets’ regular leadoff hitter and centerfielder in a re-made outfield featuring Mark Canha and Starling Marte in the corners.
Nimmo is scheduled to be a free agent after the season, and despite qualifying as a well-above-average hitter when healthy he still has something to prove — because he too often has not been healthy. The only year in which he has played more than 100 games was 2018.
If Nimmo is unavailable, the Mets could slide Marte to center from right. The Mets have had Marte play exclusively rightfield in spring-training games, because he has never manned that position in the majors.
Shreve is in
Veteran reliever Chasen Shreve, in camp on a minor-league contract, made the major-league club, he said. Team officials told him that late Sunday night, his opt-out clause for that day pushing the Mets into a decision earlier than they might have otherwise made one.
“It feels great,” Shreve said. “This is where I want to be.”
He joins Joely Rodriguez, acquired via trade with the Yankees on Sunday, to give the Mets two lefthanders in the bullpen.
Shreve, 31, has a 3.63 ERA in parts of eight major-league seasons. That includes strong performances the past two years: a 3.96 mark with the Mets in 2020, then a 3.20 with the Pirates in ’21.
On the bubble
Stony Brook alumnus Travis Jankowski said Monday he didn’t know yet whether he would be with the Mets or is headed to Triple-A Syracuse. But he feels he has acquitted himself well.
“My goal coming in here was to make them make a really tough decision on who is going to make the team, and I think I’ve done that,” said Jankowski, who signed a minor-league contract March 17. “My concern is always on-base percentage. I’m happy where it’s at. I think my defense has been elite. I think there’s definitely a need for what I bring to the table off the bench, speed and defense. But it’s not my decision to make. It’s theirs.”
If the Mets want a true backup outfielder, Jankowski is their guy. But they don’t need to carry him if they believe they can get by with the versatile starters (Nimmo, Marte and Canha can play all three spots) and a few infielders who have experience in left (McNeil, Dominic Smith, J.D. Davis).
Number news
Rodriguez had a No. 30 jersey hanging in his locker a day after being dealt to the Mets in a rare all-New York trade.
For the past seven seasons, that number belonged to Michael Conforto, who remains a free agent.
Extra bases
Carlos Carrasco said he felt strong in his final preseason outing, 4 1/3 innings (more than 60 pitches) in a 3-3 tie with the Astros. “Completely different,” he said, than last year when his hamstring and elbow bothered him . . . Jeff McNeil (2-for-4) filled in as the leadoff hitter in Nimmo’s absence. He is one of what Showalter called “a lot of good options.” . . . Pete Alonso’s cleats didn’t make it to West Palm Beach, so he went to a sporting goods store before the game to buy a pair.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
