PORT ST. LUCIE — Brandon Nimmo hobbled off the field Friday night with help from his manager and the Mets’ trainer, leaving another wisp of uncertainty for a team still reeling from the loss of its All-Star closer.
Initial reports were positive: Nimmo has right ankle “soreness” according to the team — it originally appeared as if the center fielder had jammed his right knee while sliding into second base — but more won’t be known until he receives imaging on Saturday.
“So far so good,” manager Buck Showalter said after the Mets’ 6-1 exhibition victory over the Marlins at Clover Park. “[Nimmo] seems to be pretty positive about it.”
Nimmo was attempting to break up a double play on Danny Mendick’s grounder in the fourth inning, but a catcher’s interference was ruled, nullifying the play.
Showalter was asked if he was relieved to hear Nimmo’s ankle, and not his knee, was the issue.
“If you asked me to pick one … but I don’t want to jinx anything,” Showalter said. “If it’s a high ankle it’s usually bad, but so far so good. The doctor said he would like to rule out some things and take a picture of the ankle [Saturday].”
Nimmo’s back spike got caught as he was sliding, according to Showalter.
“He was kind of in-between sliding,” the manager said. “That is why you are always telling guys: Either slide or don’t, because it’s that in-between that can kind of get you in trouble.”
The injury occurred a day after closer Edwin Diaz underwent likely season-ending surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon in his right knee.
Diaz sustained the injury during an on-field celebration with Team Puerto Rico at the World Baseball Classic.
The Mets also will be without Jose Quintana at least into July after the left-hander was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his fifth left rib, on which a benign lesion was found.
Surgery was scheduled for Friday.
After he returned to the Mets on an eight-year contract worth $162 million, Nimmo removed himself from WBC consideration this offseason, in part because of health concerns.
Nimmo played in the tournament for Italy in 2017 and returned with a hamstring strain that kept him sidelined into the season.
The Mets can hardly afford to lose Nimmo, their leadoff hitter and center fielder, for an extended stretch.
The options behind him include Tommy Pham, who was signed in the offseason as bench depth, and Tim Locastro, who is known for his speed and defense, but who hasn’t produced offensively during his career.
Starling Marte and Mark Canha have experience playing center field, but Marte is coming off double groin surgery in November and might not be physically ready for the challenge and Canha is viewed as somebody best suited to be a fill-in center fielder, but not necessarily on a long-term basis.
Nimmo played in a career-high 151 games last season and didn’t begin appearing in Grapefruit League games until Sunday because wanted to take a conservative approach this spring with the idea the Mets’ season will be extending deep into October or November.
#Brandon #Nimmo #helped #field #newest #Mets #injury #worry
Justin