Nimmo repaying Mets’ faith in him

Brandon Nimmo isn’t deaf. He heard all the rumors about being traded away this past offseason. And his stunning emergence in Yoenis Cespedes’ absence — as one of the hottest hitters in the National League and one of the few bright spots on the Mets — validated the Amazin’s decision to hold onto Nimmo over the winter.

“When everybody was wondering whether they should trade me this offseason, the Mets decided to keep me around. Because Cespedes happened to go down, that ended up being great because I was able to fill in,” Nimmo said before the Mets’ 7-1 loss to the Cubs in 14 innings Saturday. “You can’t really replace Cespy, but to be able to come in and help — I wish we were winning more, that I could help out more in that way — but it’s definitely been good for me.”

Nimmo came into Saturday’s game versus the Cubs leading the NL in both OPS (1.033) and on-base percentage (.436) among players with at least 100 plate appearances.

Going 0-for-6 on Saturday snapped career-high streak of five straight games with an RBI, four multi-hit games and back-to-back games with a homer.

It’s sobering to think of where the struggling Mets would be without Nimmo and tough to argue against him staying in the lineup when Cespedes returns.

Mickey Callaway said Nimmo’s breakthrough hasn’t changed the Mets’ opinion of what level the young outfielder can reach, just when he might get there.

“Everybody always figured he would be. Maybe it pushed up the timetable a bit because he hadn’t [done it],” Callaway said. “He has gotten more playing time than he probably would have if people would’ve stayed healthy and were performing. So maybe just the timetable of who he’s become has been pushed up a little bit.”