Nimmo on injured list; Daniel Murphy retires
NEW YORK — At the start of the season, the Mets appeared to have a loaded lineup of veteran Major Leaguers. Now, with only three more games left to play, the Mets are using a lineup with only a handful of established big-league players.
The last week of a bad season has brought rain, controversial comments about the grounds crew and injuries to Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo, the latter of whom went on the injured list Saturday with a right shoulder sprain. The center fielder injured his shoulder Thursday night diving for a ball in the outfield and underwent imaging Friday. The good news is that the imaging showed no structural damage to his rotator cuff or labrum. An AC joint strain needs only a few weeks to heal, so Nimmo will be back at 100% well before spring training.
“Nothing serious, but something that takes 10-14 days to resolve and we obviously don’t have that time,” Nimmo said Saturday at Citi Field before a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies. “So that’s the end for me for the season. We’ll start looking towards next year.”
It’s a disappointing end for Nimmo and the Mets, but his season was one of few bright spots.
The centerfielder signed an eight-year contract with the Mets shortly after the winter meetings concluded in December and proceeded to put up career numbers. He added power to his bat, hitting a career-high 24 home runs, tied his career-high with 30 doubles, hit six triples and posted a .466 slugging percentage, the thirdbest mark of his career and the second-best mark of a non-COVID season.
Murphy calls it a career:
Former Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy made a brief comeback this season, managing to parlay an independent baseball stint into a contract with the Los Angeles Angels. But three years after he retired the first time, he’s doing it for real this time.
Murphy, who was drafted by the Mets in 2006, was on hand to commemorate his eight-year career in Queens Saturday by throwing out the first pitch. His oldest son caught for him while his other three kids and wife, Tori, were on hand for the action.
The 38-year-old Murphy played for the Long Island Ducks of the Independent Atlantic League this season and then played 38 games for Triple-A Salt Lake. He accomplished his goal of having fun at the ballpark again this summer, calling it an “adventure” for his family. Still, the game sped up on him and the 38-year-old Jacksonville native announced his retirement Aug. 15.