New York Mets veteran outfielder Brandon Nimmo could be back in the starting lineup for Monday’s series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies, manager Carlos Mendoza disclosed prior to his team’s series finale on Sunday down in Atlanta against the Braves.
“He’s better. He should be a player for us [Sunday]. Definitely better today,” Mendoza said. “Yeah, there’s a good chance he’s in the lineup [Monday].”
Nimmo has missed the last four games after exiting Wednesday night’s affair with the Washington Nationals in the second inning because of neck stiffness. He was initially labeled as day-to-day.
The 32-year-old has dealt with this sporadically since 2019, including an early exit during a late-May game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Sometimes, depending on how serious it is, I can kind of tough it out and play through it,” Nimmo said on Wednesday night. “But this one was affecting the swing and me running. I wasn’t able to do what I wanted on defense, either. I wasn’t able to look up… So we decided to go ahead and get out of there.”
His replacements by committee have held the fort down quite well in his absence. Tyrone Taylor went 3-for-5 with an RBI in Friday’s 12-7 win over the Braves. The next night, Starling Marte went 3-for-3 with a solo home run. He also threw out Nacho Alvarez at home plate as he tried to tag up from third in the third inning to preserve New York’s 3-0 lead. It was just his sixth defensive start of the season.
Nimmo is batting .254 with a .762 OPS, 20 home runs, and 68 RBI this season.
