Mets veteran left fielder Brandon Nimmo was limping in obvious discomfort after tweaking his left knee while fielding a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. double down the line in the fourth inning of Tuesday night’s loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Yet after being consulted by manager Carlos Mendoza and a team trainer, Nimmo stayed in for the remainder of the game.
“It’s good, for the most part,” Nimmo said. “I think we dodged a bullet; that’s great.”
The 32-year-old added that his knee felt “hyperextended when I went over to get the ball, and I was fortunate to get off of it pretty quickly and prevent more damage from being done.”
Nimmo massaged the knee and jogged on it to test it out before deciding to stay in. He did, however, look hampered by it for the remainder of the game, even with concern being downplayed.
“[Team doctors] just said, watching the replay and looking at the knee, we dodged a bullet,” Nimmo implored. “It could have been much worse. We’re going to take it as a good thing. Dodged something that could have been a lot worse.”
There is added good news that it is not the right knee, which he injured during spring training. Regardless, it’s a scare to a Mets team that has suddenly been rife with injuries.
Designated hitter Jesse Winker injured his oblique during his first start of the season in left field on Sunday and will miss six to eight weeks. The team also lost both of its original left-handed relievers, Danny Young and AJ Minter, for the season.
In 35 games this season, Nimmo is batting just .211 with a .678 OPS, seven home runs, and 23 RBI.
