Gauging the Mets internal options to replace Brandon Nimmo

After the disappointing 2025 campaign, which saw the Mets go from one of the best records in baseball to missing the playoffs on a final day of the season loss to the Marlins (stop me if you heard that one before), President of Baseball Operations David Stearns promised change, in no uncertain terms. One of the key phrases he used in his post-season press conference was run prevention, and his first major move of the offseason was centered around that, as he traded franchise stalwart Brandon Nimmo for second baseman Marcus Semien, in a good, old fashioned, overpaid veteran for overpaid veteran swap, for all you OOTP players out there.

Nimmo, whose defense and athleticism began to falter last year, is no longer the de-facto long term answer in left field, and it leaves the Mets with a lot of roster flexibility going forward. While they almost certainly will replace some of his offensive production externally, they also have a few internal options to choose from.

One of the two biggest winners of this trade is Carson Benge. Benge, who established himself as the Mets best position player prospect last year, is going to have a wide open lane to making the 2026 Opening Day roster. Benge, who can play both in center field and in the corner outfield, has much less competition now that Nimmo is no longer patrolling left field. While he already had a good chance to break camp with the big league team, the Mets now have the flexibility to add a stronger hitter in a corner outfield spot and put Benge in center, or get a stronger defensive center field option and move Benge to left field.

The other biggest winner in this deal is AJ Ewing. Ewing, who is perhaps the biggest riser of any position player prospect in the Mets system, has a much clearer path to impacting the Mets, either in late 2026 or in 2027. While it would be a huge upset for Ewing to be in consideration for a roster spot come Spring Training, if he continues to develop the way he did in 2025, he absolutely can be in consideration in August and September, and most likely will be headed into 2027. Prior to the Nimmo trade, he was obvstentively blocked; with Nimmo and Soto in the corners, and Benge being forced to be the center fielder, there was simply no place for Ewing, especially since it is too early to move Soto to DH, and Nimmo’s bat no longer plays there. Now, if the Mets go out and sign a Kyle Tucker or a Cody Bellinger, we are back to square one with Ewing, wondering where he fits in organizationally, but as of now he is a clear winner.

Nick Morabito, who got added to the 40 Man Roster this offseason, is also a winner, but a clear step down from Benge and Ewing as prospects. He is a strong defender, but the bat does not profile as a starting caliber bat in the majors. I do think this trade makes it more likely he gets run as a fourth outfielder for the Mets, just based off of roster construction alone, but it’ll be hard pressed to see him, starting for them; and that outcome is a win considering his profile when he was drafted.

Perhaps the most interesting discussion that will come from this trade (outside of the discourse around the trade itself, which runs the gamut) is what happens with Jett Williams. Williams has experience in both center fielder and second base, and both of those have competition, whether it is from Benge and whatever external outfielders they add, or Semien himself, who was a three win second baseman last year per fWAR, due to the continued strength of his glove. Does Williams split time between second base and center field in a quasi Jeff McNeil role? Does he take the second base job from Semien at some point? Does he earn the center field job and move Benge to left, (although personally I think he’s a better second base prospect than outfield prospect)? Does he get dangled for a long term top of the rotation arm, such as Joe Ryan or even Tarik Skubal? Frankly, all of those options are possible as we sit here today. The possibilities for Williams are vast, and seeing him stay in Queens or get dealt away are both on the table.

A lot of what this trade represents has little to do with Marcus Semien himself, who is a declining but still alright player due to his ability to play defense at a high level, something David Stearns covets. The Mets last year were a downright bad defensive baseball team, and moving off of Nimmo now, with five years and $100m left on his deal, makes it so there is more runaway for the very legitimate outfield prospects the Mets have, and also allows them to be less rigid as they were in 2025. The arrow is up for Benge and Ewing especially, as the path to those two patrolling the Citi Field outfield alongside Soto was higher than it was this time last week.