The Texas Rangers are trading Marcus Semien to the New York Mets for Brandon Nimmo, per Jeff Passan.
So much for a boring offseason for Your Texas Rangers.
When I saw rumors that Nimmo was available, he was someone
I thought for a fleeting moment might make sense for Texas, until I was reminded of his contract. You know how when you’re at the car dealership, and you ask how much the car will cost, and they shift your focus to the monthly payment? That’s the Brandon Nimmo contract. Its a reasonable $20.5 million per year…for five more years, expiring in 2030, when Nimmo will be 37 years old.
Marcus Semien, meanwhile, has three years to go on his deal, at $26 million each of the next two seasons, and then $20 million in 2028. Pending whatever info still awaits regarding money going one way or the other in this deal, this deal saves the Rangers $6 million each of the next two seasons. It also opens up the second base spot in the lineup for Josh Smith, or a Josh Smith/Ezequiel Duran platoon, or maybe Sebastian Walcott at some point.
In the meantime, in Nimmo, the Rangers get a replacement for Adolis Garcia, although where exactly in the outfield he ends up is to be determined — he’s played mostly left field the last couple of seasons after manning center field prior to that. Nimmo has a .244/.326/.418 slash line the last two season, with 48 homers and 28 stolen bases in 29 attempts.
We shall have more on this as more info becomes available, and as my brain continues to process this move.
