Post-haircut Manaea deals, and a dramatic lineup change incoming?
The Mets defeat the Cardinals, 9-3, on the back of Sean Manaea's strong spring start. Plus, could the Mets really be looking to remove Brandon Nimmo as their leadoff hitter?
What’s up with the Mets? 🍎
The Mets defeated the Cardinals by a score of 9-3 on Saturday afternoon (box)
LHP Sean Manaea had a very strong outing, pitching four scoreless innings with five strikeouts and three walks
SS Francisco Lindor connected on his first home run of the spring and drove home two runs in the victory
1B Ji Man Choi went 3-for-3 with a double, RBI, walk, run scored and is now hitting .357 with a 1.214 OPS in Grapefruit League play
RF Starling Marte went 0-for-3 on the day and is now hitting .133 through 15 spring at-bats
LHP Nate Lavender struck out the side in his one inning of work, setting down Paul Goldschmidt, Thomas Saggese and Nolan Arenado in order
CF Brandon Nimmo could potentially be moved out of the leadoff spot (Newsday)
Injury Updates 🏥
2B Jeff McNeil (bicep soreness) swung the bat for the first time on Saturday morning, hitting off of a tee without any problems
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (8-5) vs. Tigers (8-7)
Where: Clover Park – Port St. Lucie, FL
Starters: RHP Adrian Houser (0-1, 7.36 ERA) vs. LHP Brant Hurter (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
When: 1:10 PM EST
Where To Watch: SNY
Moving Brandon Nimmo out of the leadoff spot doesn’t make sense right now ✍️
Early on Saturday morning, reports surfaced from Newsday that the Mets were considering removing outfielder Brandon Nimmo from their leadoff spot in 2024.
Rookie manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed that he has had “informal” conversations with Nimmo about a lineup change. However, Mendoza was sure to add that there likely would not be a change if the club stayed healthy entering the season.
“If everyone is healthy, Nimmo will be in the leadoff spot,” Mendoza told reporters. “For now.”
Nimmo was asked about the possibility of moving out of the leadoff position, a spot he has held on this team for a long time since establishing himself at the major league level. Predictably, the 30-year-old outfielder said all the right things.
“I’m not opposed to that being changed at all. I’m not stuck on that I have to be a leadoff hitter,” Nimmo told Newsday. “If it’s better for the team, if it puts us in a better position to mix things up with Pete and Lindor and putting someone else in a better position may be at leadoff or whatever it may be, then I’m all for it.”
While it’s admirable that Nimmo is being a team player here, removing him from the leadoff position doesn’t seem to make a ton of sense for the franchise at this point in time. Nimmo has played in 520 games out of the leadoff position in his career, and led the team in on-base percentage in 2023, 2021 and 2018. Nimmo also finished second on the club in OBP in the 2022 and 2020 seasons.
Since making his big league debut in 2016, Nimmo’s .380 OBP not only leads all Mets batters over that time span but ranks as the 11th highest mark in all of baseball ahead of hitters such as Mookie Betts, Alex Bregman and Shohei Ohtani.
Not only has Nimmo been one of the most prolific leadoff men to get on base over the last eight years, but the Mets also do not yet have a viable replacement for him at that spot. At least not yet.
While Nimmo’s blossoming power was noted by some during Saturday’s discourse as a reason why moving him down in the order could be productive – the left-hander hit a career-high 24 long balls last season – there’s no one currently on this roster that makes sense to move into the leadoff spot in his place. Starling Marte was an absolute shell of himself last season and has a ton to prove this year at age 35, and Harrison Bader has never been a quality on-base guy and is coming off of a career-worst .274 OBP in 2023.
The only way moving Nimmo out of the leadoff spot in this Mets lineup makes sense is in the event that one of Jett Williams (.421 OBP in minors career) and/or Luisangel Acuña (.369 OBP) establishes themselves as a dynamic threat from the leadoff spot, but there is quite a ways to go until that happens. Acuña is on track to debut with the club at some point later in 2024, while Williams isn’t expected to graduate from the minor leagues until next year.
If there comes a time where one of these youngsters does prove themselves at the big league level and Nimmo’s power surge continues in the prime of his career, this is a move that could eventually make sense – but those conversations feel premature at this point.
Talk to me about this next spring… at the earliest.
Around The League 🚩
The Giants placed 3B/DH JD Davis on waivers on Saturday after being unable to find a trade partner
Free agent LHP Blake Snell has a “strong preference” to play for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Olney)
Yankees INF Oswald Peraza was shutdown for 6-8 weeks due to a subscapularis strain in his right shoulder, according to manager Aaron Boone
Prior to signing with the Rays on a one-year, $1.5 million contract, UTIL Amed Rosario was offered a deal for $4 million from the Yankees (NY Post)