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After an offseason where the Mets were the runner-up for George Springer and signed defensive specialists Kevin Pillar and Albert Almora Jr., it seems that Brandon Nimmo will be the starting center fielder on Opening Day.
And so far, Nimmo has been granted the confidence by his organization to man that position on a daily basis.
Nimmo also hit leadoff in Tuesday's game, and manager Luis Rojas said on Monday that his placement in the lineup there will be a common occurrence.
“That is a big deal," Nimmo said of the organization's confidence in him as a two-way player. "They’ve conveyed to me that they have a lot of confidence in me, so that is very good. But I want to do my best with that confidence and go and work as hard as I possibly can. For them to give me these opportunities, I am so grateful. And I’m gonna go work as hard as I possibly can and make the adjustments. But that’s what I need. I need the opportunities. I need to make the adjustments, and so, now is perfect time to do it."
Nimmo notably struggled against lefties last season - he slashed .196/.317/.333 in 2020. But he says that spring training is the perfect time to get as much lefty-on-lefty work as possible, and is grinding to make any necessary adjustments.
"I’ve seen what [the] numbers were last year, and I know that there are improvements that need to be made. But I also have a lot of belief in myself that given the opportunities, I will make the adjustments," Nimmo said. "...I think that’s the goal of this spring training. Going into the season... I’m just going to try to ask for as many opportunities I can possibly get now in order to make adjustments for when it really matters during the regular season."
Nimmo also said he appreciates the team's faith in him as a leadoff hitter.
“We have a ton of options so I think that can be flexible throughout the season. But it does give me a lot of confidence," he said. "…My job is to get on base. We have so many good hitters behind me that the more I can get on base… the better for our team and being able to score runs…
"There is flexibility there, so we’ll just keep that fluid. But for now, I do really appreciate that confidence, and I have a lot of confidence in myself, as well, in that spot being able to work counts and get on base.”
Since 2018, his .397 OBP is the seventh-best in the majors among players with 250+ games, and his 4.33 pitches per plate appearance ranked 11th in the big leagues last year.