ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Brandon Nimmo always thought he might be like David Wright and spend his entire career with the Mets, and try to chase a World Series title in New York.
All that changed after a phone call from president of baseball operations David Stearns, who told him a deal was in place to send the 10-year outfielder to the Texas Rangers for Gold Glove second baseman Marcus Semien, if the Mets' longest-tenured player was willing to waive
the no-trade provision in his contract that still has five more seasons.
“Life centered around that we were going to be New York Mets until the very end,” said the 32-year-old Nimmo, who just celebrated his daughter's first birthday and completed a new home in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where the Mets hold spring training and he had planned to host teammates.
Nimmo, a fan favorite in New York for his consistent hustle and upbeat personality, did agree and the deal was announced Monday by both teams.
“These are always tough decisions. This was not easy," Stearns said. “Everyone here thinks very highly of Brandon.”
Among those Nimmo spoke to while considering the move was Jacob deGrom, a two-time Cy Young Award winner with the Mets who just finished his third season in Texas as the American League Comeback Player of the Year. Nimmo also spoke at length with Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young, the former big league pitcher who was in spring training with the Mets when Nimmo was a minor leaguer.
“He is just as competitive, if not more competitive, than me. And so I got the feeling from him and from his support staff that this was not a rebuild. This is just a restructuring,” Nimmo said. “Both sides felt like this would be really beneficial for each side, and that both sides would still be in a very good position to win, actually an even better position to win coming out of this trade."
Nimmo is due annual salaries of $20.25 million each season through 2030. He signed a $162 million, eight-year contract to stay in New York when he was a free agent for the first time after the 2022 season. The left-handed hitter will get an additional $1 million assignment bonus from the Mets for waiving the no-trade provision. As part of the trade, the Mets will send Texas $5 million by Sept. 18.
New York drafted Nimmo 13th overall out of high school in the same 2011 amateur draft when Semien was taken in the sixth round by the Chicago White Sox out of college. That was a decade after Wright was a first-round pick by the Mets, who this summer retired his No. 5 jersey and put him in their hall of fame after playing with them from 2004-18.
Semien has three seasons and $72 million remaining — $26 million salaries each of the next two seasons and $20 million in 2028 — on the $175 million, seven-year contract he signed in December 2021. That was at the same time Texas, coming off a 102-loss season, also in free agency added World Series MVP shortstop Corey Seager on a $325 million, 10-year contract.
That half-billion dollar middle infield helped the Rangers win their only World Series title in 2023. But that is the only winning record the past nine seasons for the team that this year finished .500 (81-81) for the first time in franchise history.
With baseball’s most expensive opening-day roster this year, the Mets had a 45-24 record that was the best in the majors in mid-June. They then lost 55 of their final 93 games and missed the playoffs.
“I don’t know if it’s necessarily wanting to change the clubhouse dynamics," Stearns said. “I think it’s a recognition that what we did last year wasn’t good enough. And running back the exact same group wasn’t the right thing to do.”
Semien's trade came days after slugging right fielder Adolis García, switch-hitting catcher Jonah Heim and right-handed reliever Josh Sborz, three other players who also had significant roles in the Rangers' World Series championship, weren't offered contracts for 2026 and became free agents.
Nimmo will likely take over in right field in a Rangers outfield with young standouts Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter.
The 35-year-old Semien will become the Mets’ everyday second baseman after they used several players there last year. Jeff McNeil made the most starts there with 69. but also plays outfield.
Semien won his second Gold Glove this season, even though he missed the final 5 1/2 weeks after fouling a pitch off his foot Aug. 20. That was only the second time in his 13 big league seasons he has been on the injured list. He hit .230 with 15 homers, 62 RBIs and 62 runs in 127 games this year. The three-time All-Star has a .253 career batting average in 1,629 games with the White Sox (2013-14), the Athletics (2015-20), Toronto (2021) and Texas.
Nimmo has a .364 career on-base percentage in 1,066 career games, and has scored at least 81 runs in each of the past three seasons since a career-best 102 in 2022. This year, he hit .262 — the same as his career average — with single-season highs of 25 homers and 92 RBIs.
“Brandon Nimmo is very, very tough at-bat. ... He is a very smart, intelligent player, well-prepared, knows how to work an at-bat, work an opposing pitcher and we feel like fits the profile of player that is going to be very, very good for our lineup,” Young said. "It was a tough decision to move on from Marcus. Obviously we’re giving up something at second base but we felt like we could backfill that internally or potentially externally if the right opportunity is there.”
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AP Baseball Writers Ron Blum and Mike Fitzpatrick contributed to this report.
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