Brandon Nimmo has signed an eight-year, $162 million deal with the New York Mets, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Thursday.
The left-handed hitting centre-fielder returns to the team he has played his entire career for, despite multiple teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays, reportedly pursuing the 29-year-old very heavily.
The magnitude of Nimmo’s deal, which becomes the second nine-figure deal the Mets have signed this winter following their Edwin Diaz extension, speaks to the state of a burgeoning free agent market for players.
Perpetually underrated, the Wyoming native hit .274 this season with 16 home runs and 64 RBIs in 151 games.
More impressively, however, Nimmo provided well above average defence in centre — grading out in the 90th percentile in outs above average according to Statcast — and also got on base at a prolific clip, drawing a team leading 71 walks.
For his career, Nimmo has slashed .269/.385/.441, while accumulating 63 home runs and 213 RBIs since his debut in 2016.
