Mets NLCS Game 3 lineup change not being related to Brandon Nimmo injury is dumbfounding

As if the New York Mets loss in Game 1 of the NLCS wasn't bad enough, it was revealed after the game that Brandon Nimmo is dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. He has been dealing with this injury since May, but re-aggravated it sometime during Game 3 of the NLDS.

Nimmo has been playing through it, but his production has lacked. He started off the postseason hot, but since Game 3 of the NLDS, he has gone hitless in his last 12 at-bats. He has drawn four walks in that span, but Nimmo hits third in the order to do more than draw the occasional walk.

More alarmingly, Nimmo looked shaky at best catching a fly ball in the bottom of the eighth inning of their NLCS Game 2 victory, and was taken out of the game in the bottom of the ninth with Harrison Bader taking his place. Bader is a Gold Glover, so there's no shame in that, but Nimmo is not usually ever taken out of games for defensive purposes. The fact that he was shows that he's nowhere near 100 percent.

He hasn't missed a game yet, but with how uncomfortable he looked in Game 2 of the NLCS and with Carlos Mendoza's announcement that J.D. Martinez is likely to be in New York's starting lineup, it was hard not to wonder whether Nimmo would be out of the lineup.

Well, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, Nimmo is set to remain in the starting lineup as he has all postseason. The Mets making the change to start Martinez even with Nimmo healthy is really tough to understand.

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Without Brandon Nimmo injury, Mets adding J.D. Martinez to the lineup is really tough to understand

Martinez has been one of the best hitters in the league for the better part of the last decade and has an outstanding postseason track record, but he is not close to the same player now at age 37 as he was even last season.

The 14-year veteran struggled in his debut season with the Mets, slashing .235/.320/.406 with 16 home runs in 120 games. He had a .623 OPS in the second half and slashed .109/.222/.146 in September, leading to the Mets reducing his role. Instead of being the everyday DH he has been for the majority of his career, Martinez has been seeing starts against left-handed pitching almost exclusively, and that's it. He has not started a game or even taken an at-bat in this series, yet is set to start in Game 3 against right-hander Walker Buehler.

If Nimmo is in the lineup, that leaves two options for players that the Mets can sub out to play Martinez — Jesse Winker and Starling Marte.

Winker, a left-handed hitter, has done quite well against Buehler in his career, going 4-for-15 with two home runs. Additionally, he reached base three times in his five plate appearances in Game 2 and four times in eight plate appearances overall in the two games in Los Angeles. Removing him when Buehler's OPS against left-handed hitters was nearly 60 points higher than that against righties in the regular season, would make no sense.

Marte sitting would make a little bit more sense. He's a right-handed hitter, and only has seven career plate appearances against Buehler. Still, he has two hits (both doubles) and a walk against Buehler, and just went 3-for-5 with a double in New York's Game 2 win. Benching him in favor of Martinez, a right-handed hitter who has two extra-base hits since the start of September and has gone 0-for-3 against Buehler, would not be wise.

The Mets could choose to bench Tyrone Taylor, their starting center fielder, but the lack of a viable replacement, with Nimmo almost certainly being unable to play center field due to his injury, makes that extremely unlikely.

It's good news that Nimmo, one of the best players on the team, is able to play, but if Nimmo is in, who is out to make room for Martinez? Anywhere you turn, the Mets would be subbing out the better player just to make room for Martinez.

Carlos Mendoza has gotten the Mets this far by seeing decisions like these pay off, but this one is tough to rationalize. Hopefully, Martinez can find a way to prove the doubters wrong.