QUEENS, NY — An MRI on Brandon Nimmo’s right shoulder came back clean after injuring it on Sunday, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said prior to the Mets’ three-game series opener against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday afternoon at Citi Field.
“We got good news,” Mendoza said. “Structurally-wise, the shoulder is in a good spot, good place, so I think it’s just a day-to-day thing… Overall, really good news.”
Nimmo was left out of the Mets’ lineup for Monday’s game but was available off the bench.
The 31-year-old left fielder left Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Miami Marlins after an at-bat in which he struck out in the bottom of the seventh inning. After fouling off the first pitch he saw from reliever Andrew Nardi, he showed immediate discomfort. However, Nimmo admitted that he initially felt something after making a diving catch to end the top of the seventh inning which at the time kept the game tied at two apiece.
“I didn’t feel it right away but then as we went in and did the seventh-inning stretch… I just felt this general achiness in my shoulder,” Nimmo said. “I was thinking ‘OK, I’ll save what swings I’ve got left for the game.’ Then I took that first swing and felt a little something in my backswing. So I told them I just needed a moment, let me finish this at-bat and finish it with two hands on the backswing and didn’t feel it there. That was encouraging.
“Because it was the throwing shoulder and I needed to get my arm up above my shoulder to make throws, we were trying to be cautious about not doing more damage.”
The Mets initially labeled it as right-shoulder discomfort with Nimmo adding that it felt “sore,” and “kind of dead,” following Sunday’s game.
Nimmo hit his 18th home run of the season just moments earlier in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. It was his second round-tripper in his last three games. While he has driven in a career-best 71 RBI this season, he is batting .229 with a .757 OPS — the lowest mark since his debut season in 2016.
