Before the Mets’ 4-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night at Citi Field, manager Carlos Mendoza spoke about Brandon Nimmo‘s tough luck, if Juan Soto is under pressure, and a plan for center field.
Pressure on Juan Soto?
With one ninth of the season gone, Mendoza was asked about Soto not “being off to a start that he may like” and if the pressure – both from the outside work and from himself – meant that the skipper had taken some time to speak to the slugger about his first 18 games in Queens and to see where he is at mentally.
“Not really,” Mendoza said with a chuckle and a bemused smile.
“It’s funny because here we are talking about not having the start he would like or we would like or people would like,” the manager continued. “He’s still got like an .830 OPS and he’s still getting on base and giving you great at-bats.”
While the manager slightly inflated the slugger’s number, which fell to .773 after Soto went 0-for-3 with a walk in Thursday’s win, the point still stood. Especially when you consider the right fielder scorched two grounders – 106.7 mph off the bat up the middle in the first and 97.7 mph in the fifth – but came up empty.
In fact, the two balls in play carried a .530 and .500 expected batting average, per Statcast, but accounted for no hits and three outs via a double play.
“And yes, here we are,” Mendoza said, adding a shrug. “No, I just want him to be himself, go out there, have fun, and play the game.”
When asked about the pressure of the new contract, the new team, and a new borough, Mendoza said Soto was “under a lot of pressure last year when he was playing for the Yankees, going into his free agent year, and he handled it pretty well.”
“I think it’s just, he’s human,” the manager said. “And this is home for him now. He’s Juan Soto, he’s fine.”
Mendoza didn’t mention it, but over his career, games in March/April have been his worst ‘month.” He has a career .258/.395/.468 slash for an .863 OPS in 143 early-season games entering Thursday.
Those four numbers are his lowest in those categories for any period of the season.
Nimmo’s fortune favors the bold?
Through 19 games, Nimmo has 14 hits in 72 at-bats (.194) with three doubles, four home runs, and nine RBI with a .656 OPS.
What has the manager made of the 32-year-old’s at-bats to start the year? “They’re on, they’re off, there’s times where he’s hitting the ball hard and he’s not getting results,” Mendoza said before the game, in which Nimmo went 0-for-3.
“Feel like he’s been a little aggressive at times, swinging at the first pitch,” he continued. “I think his approach, game plan that we’re going out there and we’re gonna be aggressive, he just hasn’t got results.”
Nimmo is swinging at the first pitch more than he ever has in his career at 46.1 percent entering Thursday’s game, up from 32.6 percent last year, which was up from a near career-low 25.5 percent in 2023.
But almost across the board, the Statcast metrics for Nimmo are up from last year: barrel percentage is up 5.2 percent, hard-hit percentage up 6.2 percent, expected batting average up .028 (to .272), and expected slugging up .121 (to .529, a small sample size career high).
In Thursday’s game, Nimmo swung at just one first-pitch and hit the ball hard (over 95 mph) twice, but had nothing to show for it.
“But we know, the professional hitter that he is, he’s gonna control the strike zone better than anybody else,” Mendoza said. “He’s got power, he’s got the ability to use the whole field, and he’s an important player for us.
“So, early on, maybe a little bit of not getting results, hitting the ball hard, being a little too aggressive. But overall, I like where he’s at.”
With Nimmo batting in the heart of the order this year as opposed to in the two hole, where he spent a significant portion of last year, Mendoza was asked if that means the veteran is having trouble striking the right balance in his approach from working counts and taking walks to being more on the front foot and driving in runs.
“I think the game will dictate at times when he’s going to be aggressive, when he needs to work an at-bat,” the manager said. “And also, when there’s traffic out there and they’re giving you a pitch to hit, we want to be aggressive.
“And more times than not, the results are gonna be there. Yes, right now, we’re not getting those results and we’re not gonna overreact to it. As long as the process, our approach, the reasons behind it are good reasons.”
Mendoza still sees Nimmo as “one of the better decision makers” at the plate. “He’s gonna be fine.”
Center of mind
With Jose Siri on the IL for some time with the broken left tibia, Mendoza isn’t short of options to platoon in center field with Tyrone Taylor. And the manager said Thursday that he is comfortable with Nimmo playing there “anytime we need him to.”
“Perfectly fine with [Nimmo] not only playing [center] late in games but even starts and things like that,” he said, adding that they will check on his fitness each day to maintain his freshness as the club views the long-time Met as an “everyday player.”
“Also comfortable playing the other guys,” Mendoza said. “I think it’s gonna be match-up based, if I feel like I need to get another lefty in the lineup and we put [Jesse] Winker in left and we put Brandon in center, we’ll be fine.”
Could that mean LuisangelAcuña ends up in center? “We’ll see,” the skipper said, adding that José Azócar, added to the roster on Thursday, can play there, too. “But we are preparing Acuña for a potential start if we need him to. He’s playing well, so he’s earning opportunities here.”
Nimmo was asked about the potential shift on Wednesday and said he is open to playing “wherever they want me to.”
“It doesn’t take any skin off my nose. I don’t have the pride like that. I just want to help the team win,” he said.
Another option down the road is Jeff McNeil, who played in center field Thursday in a rehab start at Port St. Lucie. (McNeil will return to playing at second base over the weekend.)
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