The New York Mets are nearing the end of a productive offseason that saw the club sign Juan Soto, Clay Holmes, Frankie Montas and Griffin Canning. Unfortunately for the club, the approaching arrival of spring training has yielded an injury concern with the season around the corner.
The Mets lineup should perform even better in 2025 following Soto’s addition and Jesse Winker’s re-signing. Even with Pete Alonso now viewed as unlikely to return to the team, New York has positioned itself well to be competitive in 2025. However, injury concerns are already popping up before spring training begins.
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- New York Mets payroll 2025 (FanGraphs): $297 million
During an appearance at the Amazin’ Day event at Citi Field, Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo admitted that he’s still dealing with the lingering plantar fasciitis issue that bothered him during the MLB postseason.
“The biggest thing is to be ready for Opening Day. To that point, we are just going to try and go as fast as the foot will let us. I’m in the jogging progression now. Hopefully, that will go to the sprinting [level], and then we’ll be able to get back into it. It should be good to go. But obviously, there will be steps forward and backwards through all of it.”
New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo on his lingering plantar fascitis injury (via MLB.com)
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- Brandon Nimmo stats (ESPN): .224/.327/.399, .727 OPS, 23 HR, 90 RBI, 25 doubles, 15 deals
Nimmo, who turns 32 in March, struggled during the MLB playoffs. He slashes just .220/.328/.280 with a .608 OPS. The injury also seemed to significantly impact his ability to hit for power, as just 1 of his 11 hits in 50 at-bats went for extra bases.
While the Mets’ left fielder currently believes the injury is manageable and hopes to be ready for Opening Day, it is concerning regarding the construction of the Mets lineup. Even if he is able to play through the injury, New York might have to deploy him more as the designated hitter.
If that happens, it would have a negative influence on the Mets defensively. While Nimmo wasn’t rated highly for his defense last season by Baseball Savant – 34th percentile FIelding Run Value and 50th Percentile Outs Above Average – he was significantly better than his potential replacement. Last year, Winker placed inn the 10th percentile for Fielding Run Value and had one of the lowest OAAs (-11) among outfielders.
New York is obviously hopeful that the issue doesn’t linger well into the season, but the fact that it has already limited Nimmo this offseason and will force the Mets to be cautious with him in spring training is concerning.