Inside The Mets

Mets' Carlos Mendoza gives injury updates on Brandon Nimmo, A.J. Minter

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza gave updates on Brandon Nimmo and A.J. Minter as they work toward Grapefruit League returns.

John Sparaco

Feb 13, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza (64) watches batting practice during Spring Training. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Feb 13, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza (64) watches batting practice during Spring Training. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
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Injury recovery has been a recurring theme for the New York Mets early in spring training, but two of their higher-paid players appear to be moving in the right direction.

Veteran outfielder Brandon Nimmo, who reported knee soreness following his spring debut on Feb. 28, has missed the past week of action, despite manager Carlos Mendoza expressing little concern about the issue. After Tuesday’s MRI revealed only inflammation and no structural damage, Nimmo said he was waiting for the last 10% of soreness to subside before rejoining the lineup.

Speaking with reporters on Friday, Mendoza said the team is hopeful that Nimmo will return to the lineup Sunday afternoon against the Washington Nationals. He added that Nimmo took live at-bats on Friday and plans to do the same on Saturday.

Nimmo, who turns 32 on Opening Day, is set to begin the third year of the eight-year, $162 million contract he signed in December 2022. In 151 games last season, he hit .224/.327/.399 with 23 home runs, 90 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases.

His numbers dropped significantly in the second half of the season as he dealt with plantar fasciitis, a condition that worsened during the postseason. Nimmo is confident the foot issue is behind him, though he recently acknowledged that he may spend some time as the designated hitter early in the season as he works his way back to full health.

Another encouraging sign came when Mendoza revealed that Nimmo faced A.J. Minter during live batting practice on Friday. It was only Minter’s second time facing hitters since undergoing left hip surgery last August.

Minter, 31, signed a two-year, $22 million deal (with an opt-out after 2025) with the Mets this winter after spending his first eight seasons with the Atlanta Braves. In 2024, the lefty reliever went 5-4 with a 2.62 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and a 9.2 K/9 rate over 39 appearances before his season-ending injury.

Read More: Should the New York Mets bring in another veteran reliever?

Minter entered camp as a question mark for the March 27 season opener, uncertain how his body would respond to pitching again. The Mets’ training staff has been cautious with him, but they have started to loosen the reins over the past week.

After his first live session on March 2, Minter said he planned to throw one more time in a controlled setting before determining if he was ready to make his Grapefruit League debut. With that box now checked, his first spring appearance could be on the horizon—barring any setbacks.

As long as both Nimmo and Minter continue to progress well in their respective ramp-ups, both appear poised to contribute when the season opens, even if their workloads are somewhat limited early on.

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John Sparaco
JOHN SPARACO

John Sparaco is a contributing writer for the Mets website On SI. He has previously written for Cold Front Report, Times Union and JKR Baseball, where he profiled some of the top recruits, college players and draft prospects in baseball. You can follow him on Twitter/X: @JohnSparaco

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