Outfielder Brandon Nimmo's stiff neck could be related to old injury
Mets center fielder Brandon Nimmo fields a ground ball hit for a single by Miami Marlins' Miguel Rojas during the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game Sunday, April 3, 2022, in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: AP/Sue Ogrocki
WASHINGTON — Brandon Nimmo’s new neck issue “probably” is related to his old neck issue, which was a bulging disc in 2019, he said Wednesday.
Trying to recover from recent neck muscle spasms enough to play Thursday against the Nationals, Nimmo was a full participant in the Mets’ workout at Nationals Park on the eve of Opening Day.
Manager Buck Showalter said Nimmo landing on the injured list is a possibility.
“I'm a lot more optimistic right now,” Nimmo said after running, throwing and hitting more successfully than he anticipated. “We're doing everything that we can on our end in order to not make this a problem. I don't think it will be. I honestly think it's just a few-days kind of thing and it unfortunately happened a few days before Opening Day. But I am really confident this will not be something that plagues me throughout the year.
“The biggest thing is just that range of motion, being able to see the pitcher fully and not really have to open up my shoulders a ton when I go up to hit. If that’s taken care of, I should be pretty good.”
A recent MRI looked “the same” as a 2019 test, Nimmo said. That is a good thing.
“It hasn’t progressively gotten worse, the disc,” he said. “There's not anything new and bad on there.”
Nimmo, set to reach free agency after this season, said he and his agent, Scott Boras, did not have any preseason contract extension talks with the Mets.
“I was never approached,” he said. “I can't really offer to myself. I've expressed my interest in staying here, but nothing's come my way. It's just more so solidifies that they want to wait and see, and that’s fine by me. I try to not look at it as a disappointment. The fact that everyone is asking me and we're even having this conversation is a good thing to me.”
Roster rejiggering
Outfielder Travis Jankowski, the star of Stony Brook’s 2012 College World Series team, officially won a job and was added to the Mets’ roster after signing a minor-league deal last month.
To make room for Jankowski and lefthander Chasen Shreve, the Mets designated for assignment righthander Jordan Yamamoto and infielder Travis Blankenhorn.
A signing for 2023
The Mets signed righthander John Curtiss to a major-league contract with a team option for 2023. But he was immediately placed on the 60-day injured list and won’t pitch at all this season as he recovers from August 2021 Tommy John surgery.
That is not an uncommon arrangement for a free-agent pitcher who suffered a significant injury. He gets to rehabilitate with a team’s medical staff, and the team gets him (usually on the cheap) for the next season.
Curtiss, 29, has a 3.63 ERA in parts of five seasons with the Twins, Angels, Rays, Marlins and Brewers. He still can be sent to the minors (when healthy), flexibility that also appealed to the Mets.
Extra bases
Jacob deGrom won't be with the Mets for Opening Day. He has "some imaging" to do and "some private family things he wanted to be a part of" in Florida, Showalter said. (His son, Jaxon, turns 6 on Monday.) DeGrom will join the team for its home opener April 15 . . . Former Mets reliever AJ Ramos announced his retirement after sustaining another major shoulder injury during spring training with the Angels . . . Eduardo Escobar bought the team and support staff — about 70 people — dinner at Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse in Washington on Tuesday.
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.
