Wednesday catch-all thread (5/13/26)

Please use this thread all week to discuss any Mets-specific topic you wish.

Here was my immediate reaction to the Brandon Nimmo-Marcus Semien trade:

My take is this is a questionable defensive improvement, combined with a drop in offensive production. While Nimmo has also fallen off with his wRC+ production, he had a 114 mark in the category last year, 25 points higher than Semien.

There’s value in getting out of the last two years in Nimmo’s contract. But Semien will be paid $6 million more than Nimmo in each of the next three seasons.

As a Nimmo fan, it’s tough to see him go. More importantly, as a Mets fan, this looks like a poor trade.

Nothing that’s happened since then has either been a surprise or made me change my mind. Nimmo sits with a 140 OPS+ while Semien checks in with a 69 OPS+. As for defense, Semien has a 0 FRV and a (-1) DRS. Jeff McNeil, the player that Semien was supposed to be a huge defensive upgrade from, has a (-1) FRV and a +2 DRS. That’s pretty much a wash. I prefer FRV, so if you want to say he’s been a tiny upgrade from McNeil defensively, there will be no argument from me. However, McNeil has a 96 OPS+ - making him the superior overall player. And at a cheaper cost, too.

What didn’t occur to me at the moment the deal was made is that David Stearns wanted to trade Nimmo to open up a spot for Carson Benge. While he’s been having the hits fall in lately - Benge has a .357 BABIP in his last 17 games - he has a 75 OPS+ for the year.

Nothing about the Semien deal has worked out for the Mets.

Which makes Gary Cohen fawning over Semien all the more frustrating for me. Anytime it looks even remotely possible that Semien will get a hit, ya know besides the far-too-numerous grounders and pop-ups, the excitement level from Cohen goes up noticeably. Of course, he has to then downshift and announce (more times than not) another out.

But it went to a different level Tuesday night. Coming up to the plate 0-4 for the night, Semien hits a bleeder up the third-base line for a hit. Cohen’s reaction? He talked about another hit for Semien with runners in scoring position.

With a .400 BABIP with RISP, Semien has had the hits fall in for him in these situations. Yet it should be pointed out that with 14 hits and a sac fly with RISP, Semien has just nine RBIs. Which means at least six of his hits haven’t driven in a run. That’s, um, not good.

Which pretty much describes the whole Semien experience here in 2026. And there’s two more years after this one in store for the Mets. Joy-joy.