This is not what you want to see with two weeks left in the season.
Mets’ center fielder Brandon Nimmo left Wednesday’s game in the bottom of the first inning after pulling up lame while chasing after a fly ball. Nimmo appeared to aggravate something in his left leg, which left him limping and earned an on-field visit from the athletic trainer. After a short conversation, Nimmo was removed from the game. In the fourth inning, the Mets announced that Nimmo had left quad tightness. Mark Canha came off the bench to replace him in center field.
For Nimmo, who had already set a career-high for most games played in a season, the injury comes at a devastating time. The outfielder has prided himself on his health this year, which has allowed him to be available nearly every single day. He also has set personal bests in RBI, hits and runs, and needs just one more double to surpass his total from 2018.
While it’s purely speculation at this point, the injury may have been the result of his newfound fascination with stolen bases. Nimmo only had two entering Wednesday’s game, despite showing noticeably better speed this year. Both of those stolen bases happened in the last ten days. The reluctance to run earlier in the year was by design, as Nimmo was trying to stay on the field and reduce the risk of injury. Ironically, a half inning after swiping his third bag of the year, Nimmo was dealing with a leg problem that knocked him out of a game.
If the injury ends up keeping Nimmo off the field for a few days, it depletes the Mets’ outfield even further. Starling Marte’s finger injury has kept him on the shelf since Sept. 6, and as of now there’s no update on when he’ll return. If neither of them are in the lineup, the Mets are likely looking at an everyday outfield of Canha in center and Jeff McNeil and Tyler Naquin in the corners.
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