Last week was a tough one for Mets fans. In the span of a couple of days, Edwin Diaz was lost for the year, and then Brandon Nimmo heavily limped off the field after an awkward slide into second base.
Nimmo’s injury happened on Friday. So, it was a stressful weekend waiting for some legitimate updates. The initial prognosis heading into this week was a good one, thankfully. The outfielder feels he could be ready for Opening Day in Miami on March 30th.
That’s great news and all, but feeling like you can do it and actually doing it are two different things. To be cleared to take the field on Opening Day, Nimmo has to start testing his knee/ankle sprain. According to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, that’s started happening.
The early returns are promising as Nimmo aims to get back in games by the weekend:
Brandon Nimmo (right knee/ankle sprains) continues to trend well for Opening Day. Had a full work day yesterday — hitting, fielding, running — and hopes to play in the Mets' final two Grapefruit League games Saturday and Sunday.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) March 22, 2023
That’s terrific news, but of course, we can imagine that the Mets are using a long-term view in making sure Nimmo is ready.
As I mentioned earlier this week, being ready for Opening Day is awesome. All 162 games count, but being active and ready to play for Game 1 isn’t as meaningful as being ready for the stretch run in August and September. Just as the Mets won’t rush to make a move to replace Diaz, they shouldn’t rush Nimmo back.
And there is no sign that’s happening right now. New York isn’t run by the Wilpons anymore, ya know. As I sit here and write this, it’s Wednesday. There’s still a lot of time between now and the weekend to see how Nimmo continues progressing.
The Mets’ offense was among the most productive in baseball last season. A big reason why could be attributed to Nimmo and Starling Marte setting the table at the top. Manager Buck Showalter needs them healthy and playing for as long as possible for the Mets to make another run at the postseason.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.