The trade that saw the New York Mets trade Brandon Nimmo to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Marcus Semien was shocking and a clear gamble for the Mets to make. By trading Nimmo for Semien, the Mets essentially sacrificed offense for defense. Semien won his second Gold Glove award this past season while also putting together arguably his worst offensive season. On the flip side, Nimmo is still an above-average hitter, but his defense is nowhere near what it used to be.
The Mets improved defensively, as David Stearns set out to do, but their lineup took a clear step back as well. Given that, it's hard to say whether the Mets will be better in 2026 without seeing the moves David Stearns has up his sleeve for the rest of this offseason. Any of these moves would make the Nimmo-for-Semien swap easier to justify.
Moves Mets should pursue to make sense of Brandon Nimmo trade
Sign Kyle Tucker
With Nimmo and Juan Soto locked into the corner outfield spots for the next half-decade, a Kyle Tucker pursuit made little to no sense, even with the Mets having the richest owner in the sport on their side. Nimmo getting traded, though, opens the door wide open for the Mets to back the Brinks truck for the best free agent of the class.
Tucker's defense has taken a bit of a step back in recent years as well, but his arm is much stronger than Nimmo's, and more importantly, his bat is far superior. Tucker, when healthy, is an MVP-caliber bat. Sure, his 2025 season with the Chicago Cubs wasn't what he wanted it to be, but Tucker still started the All-Star Game and won a Silver Slugger. He was playing at an extremely elite level in the first half, and only really started to struggle when he played despite being clearly compromised with a hand injury.
Tucker might not improve their defense, but adding an MVP-caliber bat to a lineup that already includes the likes of Soto and Francisco Lindor makes sense. You can live with subpar defense from Tucker, but the same cannot be said about Nimmo in a corner outfield spot.
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Re-sign Pete Alonso
Re-signing Pete Alonso should've been a priority even before this deal went down, and now that the Mets acquired Semith, re-signing the franchise's home run leader makes even more sense. The reason why the Mets (and other teams) are hesitant to give Alonso the massive contract he seeks is that he's among the worst defenders at first base in the game. Adding Semien should help in that regard.
As mentioned above, Semien just won a Gold Glove award and has been a premier defender at the keystone for a while. On the flip side, Jeff McNeil is a fine defender, but nowhere near Semien. Having Semien cover more ground on the right side of the infield makes it easier to play a subpar defender at first base.
Letting Alonso go was going to be hard to come back from for the Mets. Doing so now, after sacrificing offense for defense and trading a fan favorite to do so, makes it even tougher.
Trade for a bonafide ace
While this deal opens the door for the Mets to sign Tucker and Alonso, it also adds another infielder to a deep group for the next three years. Not only do the Mets have Lindor locked in at shortstop long-term, but prospects like Jett Williams and A.J. Ewing are primarily middle infielders. Where will those guys factor in when they're ready to play in the majors? Perhaps the Mets like the idea of playing a guy like Williams in center field, but he might provide them more value in a trade right now, particularly if an ace is available.
It's never easy trading a top prospect, and both Williams and Ewing have high ceilings. Williams, in particular, is a top 30 prospect per MLB Pipeline. Can he be the centerpiece of a Tarik Skubal trade? What about a controllable starter like Joe Ryan? The Mets should not rush to trade a top prospect, but if there's a deal, particularly for Williams or Ewing, that would help allow them to land an ace that they desperately need, why not do it?
The Mets should've already been considering using Williams and/or Ewing as trade bait this winter, and now that they've added another middle infielder, it makes more sense to see what they can do on the trade market.
Mets must act aggressively after trading Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien
This trade was undoubtedly a risk for the Mets. They're hoping Semien, a 35-year-old middle infielder, has a couple more elite defensive years in him while also not being a complete liability at the dish. Nimmo might not be a perfect player, but he hit 25 home runs and drove in 92 runs this past season. He's still a productive player. Sacrificing his consistent offensive production for an older player coming off his worst offensive season is a risk.
The only way to justify trading Nimmo for an older player in a steeper decline is if more big moves are coming. If they're willing to splurge on a superstar bat, sacrificing offense for defense suddenly makes more sense. If they're willing to trade from their glut of middle infielders to improve the pitching, again, adding Semien makes more sense.
This trade is hard to fully judge without seeing what comes next. It'll be interesting to see what David Stearns has in store.