WASHINGTON — Brandon Nimmo’s fate to begin the season hasn’t been decided, but based on how he felt during a workout Wednesday the outfielder can envision himself starting the opener.
“We still have more things to discuss, and we have to see how I feel when I come in, but I am a lot more optimistic right now,” Nimmo said.
Nimmo received a cortisone shot Monday for a stiff neck that he says began bothering him during an exhibition game the previous day. He said his biggest issue has been range of motion, seeing the pitcher and turning to his right.
The Mets’ options, according to manager Buck Showalter, are to play Nimmo, give him one or two additional days to rest or place him on the injured list. Nimmo missed significant action in 2019 with a bulging disk in his neck that he suspects is related to the latest ailment.
“If I didn’t have that, we probably wouldn’t be dealing with this,” Nimmo said. “But we’re doing everything we can on our end in order to not make this a problem. I don’t think it will be. I honestly think that it’s just a few days kind of thing and it just happened unfortunately a few days before Opening Day, but I am really confident this won’t be something that plagues me throughout the year.”
Brandon Nimmo Corey SipkinNimmo said he’s added stabilization and mobility exercises to his routine in recent years that have helped keep his neck healthy to this point. He said an MRI exam indicated his neck hasn’t regressed structurally since 2019 and he’s dealing with a muscle spasm.
Travis Jankowski will begin the season on the 28-man roster to provide the Mets with insurance in the outfield. If Nimmo isn’t available it’s possible Showalter will use the same alignment in the outfield he deployed in an exhibition game Monday, when Mark Canha started in center with Jeff McNeil in left and Starling Marte in right.
Showalter has already indicated he plans to start J.D. Davis at DH against left-hander Patrick Corbin. Whether Robinson Cano starts at second base or is on the bench could be contingent upon whether Nimmo plays. If Nimmo plays, it would allow McNeil to play second.
