MLB trade grades: Mets find a taker for Brandon Nimmo, but at what cost?

This MLB offseason simply refuses to take a breath. After a flurry of activity earlier this week, it seemed like the baseball world was content to let football take center stage while we eased into the Thanksgiving break. But not so fast: ESPN's Jeff Passan dropped a bomb early Sunday evening, reporting that the New York Mets had sent long-time outfielder Brandon Nimmo to the Texas Rangers in return for infielder Marcus Semien.

It's a fascinating deal, the sort of one-for-one, vet-for-vet deal we hardly ever see — especially not from two teams who ostensible plan on contending in 2026. The Mets needed to clear up their corner logjam and upgrade (especially defensively) at second base, while the Rangers get a third outfield to put alongside Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter and hopefully upgrade what was a punchless offense last year. But the actual players involved, and the contracts they come with, complicate things tremendously. Let's dive into the details.

Need to Know

• Nimmo and Semien are both declining players locked into long-term deals their teams were desperate to get out of
• The Mets cleared up their corner logjam and filled a need
• Nimmo makes sense for Texas in a vacuum, but the contract is a concern

MLB trade grades: Did anyone win the Brandon Nimmo-Marcus Semien swap?

It was no secret that the Mets were both looking to move off of Nimmo and upgrade from Jeff McNeil at second base, and they did both of those things with one fell swoop here. Yes, Semien is a declining player; he just turned 35, and he's coming off of arguably the worst offensive season of his 13-year career. But his excellent defense at the keystone and his remarkable durability — he's played fewer than 155 games just twice over the last 10 full seasons (COVID year excluded) — mean he's still a valuable player, even if he's now a mediocre bat rather than a very good one.

Finding valuable players in this year's middle-infield market was no small task, and David Stearns managed to do so while also improving team defense (a stated goal this offseason) and gaining some long-term financial flexibility. Semien (seven years, $175 million) makes about five million more per year than Nimmo (eight years, $162 million), but his contract only runs through 2028, where as Nimmo's runs through 2030.

The Rangers, meanwhile, prioritized the short-term here: For a Texas team desperate to duck back under the luxury tax in 2026, that $5 million difference in annual salary gives president Chris Young some much-needed breathing room. And Nimmo will immediately slot into right field alongside Langford and Carter, a substantial offensive upgrade over what the Rangers ran out there this past season.

Still, the question must be asked: At what cost? Sure, this allows Texas some leeway with which to try and plug other holes on the roster, but that list now includes second base. And there's now substantial pressure to pay this off with a postseason run right away, because they're now on the hook for Nimmo for five more years — a harsh reality considering his recent decline.

Mets trade grade: B-

Rangers trade grade: C-

Why the Mets moved Brandon Nimmo, and how Marcus Semien fits in

Nimmo has gone from dynamic all-around center fielder to a decent bat with rapidly disintegrating defensive value seemingly overnight. He averaged a 131 OPS+ from 2020-2023, but has posted marks of 106 and 114 in the last two years — all while declining dramatically in the field, to the point where it was becoming untenable for New York to leave him as their everyday center fielder.

The prospect of further decline in the years to come (he'll turn 33 in time for Opening Day next year) made his contract quietly one of the worst in the Majors, over $20 million a year for five years to a player who can't play center but whose bat wasn't good enough to be above-average in a corner — and especially not at DH, where he might wind up in a couple years' time. Getting out from under that contract is a win, and doing it while addressing a need even more so.

Sure, Semien's overpaid himself. But he at least still offers very good defense at an up-the-middle position; even if he doesn't bounce back at the plate after posting a .669 OPS (97 OPS+) last year, that's still a fine everyday player. The Mets can now lock Semien into second base, with Francisco Lindor at short and Brett Baty likely at third (unless there's a run at Alex Bregman in the cards, with Baty sliding over to first). That's a pretty good infield, even if New York lets Pete Alonso walk.

It's not the most exciting move, but dumping Nimmo on somebody was never going to be. Semien is at least a net neutral for the Mets moving forward, and the fact that his deal ends two years earlier — and that the Mets now have a clear path to playing time in left field — will allow Stearns to make a run at, say, Kyle Tucker a bit more easily.

What the Rangers are getting in Brandon Nimmo, and what it means for the rest of Texas' offseason

In a vacuum, I can understand why the Rangers were interested in Nimmo. He's still an above-average hitter, with good on-base skills and 20-homer pop. Texas needed a third outfielder badly, and paying up for Tucker, or Cody Bellinger, was never going to be in the cards given this team's financial reality right now.

Of course, these deals don't happen in a vacuum. Yes, Nimmo for Semien lowers the payroll outlook for tax purposes in 2026, and yes, it should make the Rangers better offensively. But does it do either of those things enough to make it worth it? Texas still doesn't have very much money to work with this winter, especially now that second base is a need, and this roster still doesn't profile as one with an easy path toward AL pennant contention.

So the Rangers are more or less stuck where they were yesterday, a fine but very flawed team lodged firmly in the AL's middle class. The only difference is that now they're stuck with Nimmo's contract for two years longer than they were Semien's, and the former's late 30s figure to be much uglier than the latter's given Nimmo's declining defensive ability.