Former New York Mets center fielder Brandon Nimmo is now a free agent and an excellent fit for the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Cardinals should pursue Nimmo this offseason for a few reasons.
1) Nimmo is one of the best leadoff batters in Major League Baseball. He's been the primary leadoff batter for the Mets since 2018. In these five seasons, he slashed .269/.388/.449.
In 2022 the Cardinals used four batters at the top of the order. Brendan Donovan, Dylan Carlson, Lars Nootbaar, and Tommy Edman. Donovan is the only one who reached base more often than Nimmo. He slashed .281/.394/.379 in 2022, however, as the leadoff batter he slashed just .220/.363/.286 compared to Nimmo's .276/.368/.435.
Donovan is the best option within the Cardinals organization to bat leadoff in 2023. It is hard, however, to trust Donovan with the everyday leadoff role next season as he was just a rookie in 2022. Expect Donovan to regress some in 2023 as he didn't even reach base as often in the minors as he did in the majors.
2) Nimmo is 29 years old with plenty of MLB experience and is in the prime of his career. Something the Cardinals could use.
This experience shows in his batting style as the left-hander is great when facing two-strike counts. In 2022 Nimmo slashed .222/.322/.301 with an 89 wRC+ and 30.6% strikeout rate with two strikes against him.
Again, Donovan is the only leadoff candidate with comparable numbers. Donovan slashed .239/.363/.310 with a 104 wRC+ and 27.3% strikeout rate with two strikes against him.
Carlson, Edman, and Nootbaar all fail this test. In 2022 they slashed a combined .173/.268/.259 with a 58 wRC+ in two-strike counts.
3) Nimmo is an above-average defender. He has plus speed and arm strength while ranking in the 91st percentile for outs above average, according to Baseball Savant. Nimmo may not be as talented of a defender as Harrison Bader, but he will get the job done and limit errors.
4) If the St. Louis Cardinals sign Nimmo, he will instantly become their best outfielder on offense and defense. Signing Nimmo also ends the discussion on who should be the everyday leadoff batter and eliminates having a timeshare at the top of the order.
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Featured image courtesy of SLGCKGC.
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