Brandon Nimmo talks playing left field, Pete Alonso's contract situation

The big question for Brandon Nimmo entering this offseason – and year two of an eight-year contract he signed with the Mets in 2022 – was about where he would play in the outfield.

After starting 287 of 297 games in center field over the past two seasons, two of his healthiest campaigns during his eight-year career in Queens, the 30-year-old will likely be playing left field most of the time this season.

Nimmo told “The Show” podcast with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman that David Stearns had a series of conversations with him about the team’s plans for the outfield and his willingness to change positions.

Nimmo said in an introductory call early in the offseason with the Mets’ new president of baseball operations that Stearns laid out his belief in a strong defense and desire to improve the team. In a second call, Nimmo said Stearns told him that "there are some pretty good defensive center fielders on the market, how would you feel about that if we pursued any of them?”

Nimmo, who said he was approached "very cordially" for his opinion, told the new top man in the Mets’ decision-making tree that "honestly, David, if it makes our team better then I'm all for it.

"I just want to be competitive, I want to make the playoffs and I want to have a chance to win the World Series. That's my goals at this point in my career and I would love to do anything that it takes in order to do that," the outfielder said he told Stearns. "If you feel like going in that direction would make us better, then sure."

Around December, a third call from Stearns came about the club’s interest in free agent center fielder Harrison Bader. Nimmo called him "an amazing center fielder" whose "stats speak for themselves."

After Bader signed a one-year deal, Nimmo said Stearns told him in another phone call that "it’s gonna be totally up to you whether you want to go in both directions and play center field and left field or if you wanna stay in one position, we’re fine with that, too."

Stearns told reporters in January that "Harrison is going to play a lot of center field. He's going to play regularly in center field," adding that the Mets are "fortunate we have a number of outfielders who can play multiple positions, and play center field."

Nimmo’s plan: "Let’s go to spring training, let’s see how all this works out and we’ll start to get a better feel when we all start to play together and everything.

"I’m completely open to making the team better, in whatever capacity that is. Whether that’s in center field for me, whether that’s in left is still to be seen. It’s also gonna come down to how Carlos Mendoza wants to write the lineup each and every day.

"I think having that versatility really can make us a better team and I think that’s what David was looking for. And he’s really, really big on defense. As well as he should be with our park, it plays more like a pitcher’s park, and so, we really need good defense out there and we need to be winning these one-run ball games. And a lot of the time defense is what that comes down to."

If Mendoza puts a "7" next to Nimmo's name in the Opening Day lineup it will be his 100th career start in left, a position he played 10 times a year ago.

Bader last played in a corner outfield position in 2018 for the St. Louis Cardinals, when he made 29 starts in right and two in left. If it is Bader in left on March 28 at Citi Field, it would end a streak of 447 straight starts in center field.

Nimmo backs Pete Alonso extension

One of the other big questions around the Mets this offseason is the future of the slugging first baseman who will become a free agent after this season. Nimmo told Sherman and Heyman he "would love to see Pete stay," but that it is a decision that will be Alonso’s to make.

"I think he’s been nothing but a positive impact on our clubhouse -- he’s always fiery and ready to go. He always wants the best out of himself and everybody around him," Nimmo said. "I think he is a great clubhouse guy and is obviously one of the best power hitters in the game.

"I really think he wants to and he should stay a New York Met. Ultimately, that will come down to what happens this season and this offseason, and what is best for him and his family."

Nimmo went through the same situation after the 2022 season before he signed an eight-year, $162 million deal to remain with the club.

"Being selfish, I would love to have him. He's always been such a presence in our lineup and always comes up with big hits, been that clutch player, someone that I think can turn a lineup around in an instant," he continued. "...I think he does nothing but bring positivity and good things to the clubhouse, and, obviously, we all know what he does on the field.

"Would love to see him stay in a Mets uniform, but ultimately that will be up to him."

Expectations for 2024

Nimmo admits that the club is taking "a different approach" to 2024 than they did the previous offseason when they added Justin Verlander as part of some "big splash" moves that "didn’t work," but competing this season is on his mind.

"I think going into this year they were trying to be much more competitive but in a different manner," he said. "I know [Mets owner Steve Cohen] is very much of the mindset of being adaptable, and if you don’t adapt you die. And so if you try it one way and it doesn’t work, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to do it that way again. I think he’s willing to try it a few different ways and I think David had a different idea going into this season of how we could compete.

"Ultimately I think it falls to if our guys can stay healthy. And that goes to the rest of the league as well… First and foremost for us is just going into spring training I’m gonna be preaching be taking care of your bodies and looking toward the long-term and not just the short-term because we’re gonna be needing everybody pulling on one end of the rope in order to be successful."

Overall, Nimmo believes the Mets made some "great additions" this offseason with an eye on depth in the rotation and the defense.

"I think depth is a really important thing to the success for the season and I think we’ve added that," he said. "But by no means am I saying, 'hey we’re the favorites.' I think we’re definitely gonna be the underdogs in this season, but there’s nothing wrong with that.

"I don’t think people were thinking much of us in '22 anyways, either, and we ended up having a pretty dang good season... I think your goal is to get into the playoffs and then roll the dice from there."