Why Brandon Nimmo is Skipping the World Baseball Classic

Find out why Brandon Nimmo is skipping out on the World Baseball Classic this year.

It's not worth the risk.

While the Mets will be well represented at this year's 2023 World Baseball Classic, as players such as Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Francisco Lindor and Edwin Diaz, among others, will be attending, outfielder Brandon Nimmo won't be participating. 

Nimmo signed an eight-year, $162 million deal with the Mets this offseason and has been working out at the team's spring training facility in Port St. Lucie, Fla. since mid-December.

Although Nimmo played for Italy in the 2017 WBC, he felt it was the right decision for himself and the team to sit out of this year's tournament.

"Once I signed, I did consider it, but my past experience was that I did get injured in the last game against Puerto Rico in 2017 and unfortunately with the travel being to Taiwan for Italy this year, I just felt like, you know what, that’s a risk I can’t take on signing this contract and being with this team and the way that Steve [Cohen] has set it up," Nimmo told reporters. "I would really kick myself if something happened. 

"To be quite honest with you, in order to be prepared for that the right way, I would have even needed to start [working out] a month earlier, and I’m hoping that we’re playing well after this regular season ends. So, I’m hoping on adding a month to a month-and-a-half of a season after this. We just felt like it was best for the team if I did not [play]."

Back in the 2017 WBC, Nimmo suffered a hamstring injury, which caused him to be left off the Mets' Opening Day roster. Nimmo remained in the minor leagues until mid-June and played in just 69 major league games during that season.

Despite having fond memories of the WBC in 2017, in the end, Nimmo felt it was the best move to sit out this year.

"It’s a lot of travel, it’s right in the middle of spring training, and again, we just felt like – I loved my experience at the WBC. It was awesome, it gave me so much joy," he said. "I still remember us coming back against Mexico the first night in Mexico and winning that game. It was awesome, it was a great experience, but for what we’re trying to accomplish in winning a World Series, we felt like it was counterproductive to the goal in mind."

Read More:

- Keith Hernandez Signs 3-Year Deal to Return to Mets Booth

- Projecting Mets' Opening Day Roster

- WATCH: New York Mets' Super Bowl ad

Follow Pat Ragazzo on Twitter (@ragazzoreport), be sure to bookmark Inside The Mets and check back daily for news, analysis and more.