Mets manager reveals reason behind $162M star’s absence from lineup

New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo did not feature for the team in the series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field on Tuesday night. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza revealed the reason behind Nimmo's absence.

Brandon Nimmo tied a franchise record after a career night against the Washington Nationals on Monday. Nimmo smashed a grand slam to tie the franchise record of nine RBIs in a game, helping the team to a 19-5 thrashing of the Nationals in the series finale.

While Nimmo's absence from the lineup for Tuesday's game surprised many, Carlos Mendoza revealed the reason for his omission. He said the outfielder was dealing with a flu and was not rested.

"I’m not resting Brandon," Mendoza said. "Especially after that game last night. He’s just sick today. He’s in rough shape right now.

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Nimmo, who is on a $162 million contract with the Mets, was expected to play a role in the game if he was feeling better, per Mendoza.

"We’ve got a lot of guys dealing with this flu, whatever you wanna call it, and fever, pretty weak," Mendoza said. "So [Nimmo's] getting an IV right now, and hopefully, he’s a player for us at some point today, but we gotta give him a couple of hours. As of right now, he’s pretty rough."

Mets breeze past Diamondbacks in series opener despite Brandon Nimmo's absence

As it turned out, Brandon Nimmo didn't feature for the Mets against the Diamondbacks in their series opener. However, it didn't stop the Mets from stretching their record to 21-9 for the season, the best in the MLB.

The National League East leaders took the series opener 8-3 after home runs from Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor and Starling Marte. Jose Azocar, who was in leftfield in Nimmo's absence, also had an RBI night, going 1-for-3 and driving in a run.

Lindor's two-run home run came in the bottom of the second inning in a four-run burst. Starling Marte followed with a two-run homer in the third as the hosts scored seven of their eight runs in two innings. Alonso seemingly put the game beyond Arizona's reach with a seventh home run of the season to give the Mets an 8-0 lead.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash