{"id":402148,"date":"2025-11-24T21:33:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T21:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/402148\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T21:33:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T21:33:09","slug":"nimmo-stearns-young-discuss-semien-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/402148\/","title":{"rendered":"Nimmo, Stearns, Young Discuss Semien Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Mets and Rangers lined up on a surprising one-for-one swap<\/a> over the weekend, with outfielder Brandon Nimmo<\/a><\/strong> heading to Texas and infielder Marcus Semien<\/a><\/strong> to Queens. Today, members of the media got to speak with many of the parties involved. Arguably, the most notable comment came from Nimmo himself, who waived his no-trade clause to become a Ranger. \u201cI would not have waived that no-trade clause if I didn\u2019t think I could come here and win,\u201d Nimmo said, per Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It has been fair to wonder about the direction of the Rangers recently, as they\u2019ve clearly been trying to dial back their spending. They pushed their competitive balance tax a bit over the line in 2023 and 2024. In 2025, they hoped to duck under the line<\/a> but may have gone over with in-season trades, such as acquiring Merrill Kelly<\/a><\/strong> from the Diamondbacks. Their 2025 status won\u2019t be official until MLB releases the final calculations, likely in December, but it\u2019s possible the Rangers will be tax payors for a third straight season.<\/p>\n

Even if they did go over the line, it was surely by a narrow margin, so the tax bill won\u2019t be huge. Regardless, it seems they are going to be extra motivated to pinch pennies in 2026. The club parted ways with manager Bruce Bochy at the end of the regular season. President of baseball operations Chris Young admitted<\/a> that the club didn\u2019t have a lot of financial certainty, which played a role in that separation. Esteemed pitching coach Mike Maddux also left, heading to the Angels, which prompted speculation that was financially motivated as well.<\/p>\n

In terms of the roster construction, the Rangers were recently trying to trade<\/a> outfielder Adolis Garc\u00eda<\/a><\/strong> and catcher Jonah Heim<\/a><\/strong>, despite both players being part of the 2023 championship club. Each could have been retained via arbitration for 2026 but the Rangers clearly didn\u2019t want to pay them at their projected prices. Ultimately, no trade came together. On Friday, the Rangers non-tendered<\/a> both, along with relievers Jacob Webb<\/a><\/strong> and Josh Sborz<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Amid all of that, rumors have swirled that the Rangers could trade a more expensive franchise players such as Corey Seager<\/a><\/strong> or Semien as part of a larger step back. Now Semien has indeed been traded but the Rangers have taken on another sizable contract by getting Nimmo in return. The remaining contracts are somewhat analogous, with Nimmo making less annually, but signed for two extra years. The Rangers are therefore taking on more money overall but less per year.<\/p>\n

It seems that Nimmo has been assured that the club is still planning to compete and isn\u2019t doing a big teardown. That\u2019s somewhat encouraging for fans in Texas but the club will probably still have some tight parameters to deal with. RosterResource<\/a> estimates the club has a pure payroll of $169MM next year and a competitive balance tax figure of $187MM. Last year, those numbers were $224MM and $237MM.<\/p>\n

Getting back up to those levels would give the Rangers roughly $50MM to work with but the signs are pointing to them setting a lower target. They have a number of things on the to-do list this winter. The rotation could use some shoring up. Almost the entire bullpen reached free agency, meaning there\u2019s work to do there. Replacing Heim behind the plate and potentially Semien at second are other potential areas to target, though it\u2019s possible the Rangers are happy with Willie MacIver<\/a><\/strong> as a backup to Kyle Higashioka<\/a><\/strong> behind the plate. It\u2019s also possible they feel Josh Smith<\/a><\/strong> and\/or Sebastian Walcott<\/a><\/strong> can take over at the keystone.<\/p>\n

President of baseball operations Chris Young also spoke today and echoed Nimmo\u2019s comments that the Rangers want to win. \u201cI do think we are focused on winning moving forward,\u201d Young said, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com<\/a>. \u201cThe last two years have been very difficult as we feel like we have not lived up to our expectations, and when you don\u2019t meet expectations, you have to make tough calls, and that\u2019s part of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young also said Nimmo will likely end up in right field, per McFarland<\/a>, but there are still conversations to be had there. Nimmo has primarily been a left fielder in recent years, with Statcast ranking him as having 48th percentile arm strength. The Rangers could perhaps keep Nimmo in left while moving Wyatt Langford<\/a><\/strong> to right. Langford\u2019s arm strength was slightly ahead of Nimmo in 2025, with Statcast giving him 59th percentile arm strength. However, Langford has no professional experience in right, while Nimmo has over 600 big league innings at that spot.<\/p>\n

Turning to the other side of the trade, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns also spoke to the media today, complimenting his new second baseman. \u201cIt\u2019s notable that this is a player that can contribute to winning baseball in a variety of different ways,\u201d Stearns said, per Deesha Thosar of Fox Sports<\/a>, \u201cand the bat may not actually lead the way at this point in his career. We think there\u2019s likely some bounce back in his offensive profile and his offensive game. But what we\u2019re counting on at the top of his skillset is the contributions he can make for us defensively, how he can perform on the bases, and we think those are going to help us win games.\u201d Stearns has highlighted a desire to improve the Mets\u2019 run prevention, so it\u2019s understandable he would focus on Semien\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n

Naturally, Stearns was asked about what\u2019s next for the Mets. While the story in Texas might be scaled-back spending, that doesn\u2019t appear to be a concern with the Mets. \u201cSure,\u201d Stearns said, when asked if it\u2019s possible for the Mets to re-sign Pete Alonso<\/a><\/strong> and Edwin D\u00edaz<\/a><\/strong> and a notable free agent outfielder. \u201cI think anything would be realistic right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under owner Steve Cohen, the Mets have been one of the top-spending clubs in the majors. Per RosterResource<\/a>, they had a $340MM payroll and $337MM CBT number in 2025. For 2026, those numbers are at $263MM and $264MM. That gives the Mets something like $70MM in wiggle room if they are willing to get to the same level and it\u2019s entirely possible they could be willing to go even higher.<\/p>\n

MLBTR predicted<\/a> D\u00edaz to secure an $82MM deal over four years. He is reportedly<\/a> setting his sights higher than that, targeting a deal in the same range as his last one, which was a $102MM guarantee over five years. Either way, a deal worth roughly $20MM annually is probably likely. MLBTR predicted Alonso for $110MM over four years, which would be $27.5MM in terms of average annual value.<\/p>\n

Put together, those two would likely eat up something near $50MM of next year\u2019s payroll. If the Mets do have $70MM of space right now, that would leave them another $20MM to spend on an outfielder, though they also presumably want to make additions to the rotation as well. The Mets have already been connected to Cody Bellinger<\/a><\/strong> and the Nimmo deal opens a corner, raising immediate speculation about a run at Kyle Tucker<\/a><\/strong>. MLBTR predicted Bellinger for $140MM over five years and Tucker for $400MM over 11 years, respective AAVs of $28MM and $36.36MM.<\/p>\n

There are other moving pieces at play. With Semien now at second base, it\u2019s possible Jeff McNeil<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s chances of getting traded have increased. He can play other positions, such as left or center field, but it\u2019s possible the Mets would rather ship him out the way they did with Nimmo. Even before the Nimmo deal, McNeil\u2019s name was in trade rumors<\/a>. McNeil is owed $15.75MM next year, plus a $2MM buyout on a $15.75MM club option for 2027. There\u2019s also a $500K assignment bonus if he\u2019s traded. Then there\u2019s also Kodai Senga<\/a><\/strong>, who is owed $14MM annually over the next two years and has been in trade rumors<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n

If the Mets can find a taker for McNeil and\/or Senga, they could free up some more money for their other pursuits, or perhaps address another area of need by taking back another veteran player, like they did by grabbing Semien. Stearns also mentioned today that McNeil could also play some first base, expanding his versatility, per Mike Puma of The New York Post<\/a>. McNeil has played every position on the diamond outside the battery but has just three innings of first base experience. If Alonso isn\u2019t coming back, McNeil could be part of the solution there, alongside guys like Mark Vientos<\/a><\/strong>. Though it\u2019s also possible the Mets aren\u2019t done shaking up their roster by trading out long-time mainstays.<\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of Kyle Ross, Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Mets and Rangers lined up on a surprising one-for-one swap over the weekend, with outfielder Brandon Nimmo…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":402149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[7599,31972,3690,3378,3687,62,67,132,68,75406],"class_list":{"0":"post-402148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-brandon-nimmo","9":"tag-edwin-diaz","10":"tag-jeff-mcneil","11":"tag-marcus-semien","12":"tag-pete-alonso","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-wyatt-langford"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115606822114688414","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/402149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}