Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo during a spring training workout on Feb....

Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo during a spring training workout on Feb. 24 in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The way things are going for the Mets, Saturday’s Brandon Nimmo update passed for “good news,” according to general manager Billy Eppler.

Eppler said Nimmo suffered “low-grade sprains” to his right knee and ankle when he caught his spike while attempting to slide into second base in a spring training game on Friday night.

The Mets on Friday said the scary-looking injury was to Nimmo’s ankle. Eppler said the centerfielder woke up and “had a little knee pain also” on Saturday, so imaging was taken of the ankle and knee. The good news, Eppler said, was that “everything [is] structurally sound” with the ankle and knee.

“He’s in a week-to-week situation right now,” Eppler said. “We’ve got some time before Opening Day [March 30], so we’ll just continue to watch him. Get an update probably about a week from now, and then we’ll be able to get a little bit better timetable on him. But all in all, I feel good about the results that we got compared to what they could have looked like.”

Nimmo was not available for comment. The injuries came two days after the Mets likely lost closer Edwin Diaz for the season with a patellar tendon tear in his right knee suffered during a celebration at the World Baseball Classic.

Manager Buck Showalter called the diagnosis “fairly positive news” and said there is no point in speculating on whether Nimmo will be available for Opening Day.

“It’s when, not if,” he said of Nimmo’s eventual return this season. “He’s worth waiting on.”

The Mets will open the season with four games on artificial turf in Miami. That complicates a quick return for Nimmo, who in the offseason signed an eight-year, $162 million contract to remain with the Mets.

Nimmo, who will turn 30 on March 27, was appearing in only his fourth spring training game. He purposely got a late start in hopes of staying healthy this season and during his long contract.

If Nimmo starts the season on the injured list, former Yankees outfielder Tim Locastro could make the roster and play centerfield. Locastro, who is batting .342, hit his first home run of spring training in the Mets’ 2-0 victory over Houston in West Palm Beach on Saturday.

Max Scherzer threw seven shutout innings (80 pitches), allowing four hits and walking one with eight strikeouts.

Outfielder Tommy Pham suffered what Showalter called “abrasions” to his face when he hit the dirt sliding into third base in the fourth. Pham stayed in the game and had one more plate appearance before exiting in the fifth.

Notes & quotes: Jose Quintana underwent surgery on Friday that included a bone graft from his hip to help heal a stress fracture in a rib on his left side, Eppler said. The lefthander is expected to miss the first half of the season . . . Righthander Dennis Santana, whom the Mets claimed off waivers from the Twins, reported to the club . . . The Mets sent shortstop Ronny Mauricio and lefthander Joey Lucchesi to Triple-A Syracuse and reassigned outfielders Abraham Almonte and Jaylin Davis to minor-league camp . . . . Francisco Lindor will rejoin the Mets on Monday after Puerto Rico was eliminated from the WBC on Friday.

Newsday LogoSUBSCRIBEUnlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 5 months
ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME