This trade seems to be more of a contract trade than a player trade although it makes some sense as a player challenge trade too Yesterday, the Rangers sent Marcus Semien 2B and his 3 yr/$72 M remaining contract to the Mets for Brandon Nimmo OF and the remaining 5 yr/$101.5 M of his contract. Let's break it down into components:
Mets take:
Marcus Semien 2B. DOB: 9/17/1990. B-R, T-R. 6' 0", 195 lbs. Contract: 7 yr/$175 M, now 3 yr/$72 M, $24 M AAV.
2025: .230/.305/.364, 15 HR, 11 SB, 9.4 BB%, 17.4 K%, 127 PA, 2.1 fWAR.
Fangraphs still rates Semien as a plus defender but the bat has gone relatively cold over the past two seasons and the 3 yr sequence of this fWAR value is 6.5, 4.3, 2.1. Note that part of his down season was injury related and his Steamer projection for 2026 is a small rebound to 3.1 fWAR which is valued close to his AAV.
Rangers Get:
Brandon Nimmo OF. DOB: 3/27/1993. B-L, T-R. 6' 2", 206 lbs. Contract: 8 yr/$162 M, now 5 yr/$101.5 M, $19.25 M AAV(Rangers get $5 M from Mets to partially offset the contract difference).
2025: .262/.324/.436, 25 HR, 13 SB, 7.7 BB%, 21.6 K%, 587 PA, 3.0 fWAR.
Nimmo is not a CF anymore but he is still a good fielder in LF. His fWAR value peaked at 5.5 in 2022 then dropped to 4.2, 2.8, 3.0. FWIW his Steamer projection for 2026 is 2.5 fWAR.
There are some convoluted reasons why this trade helps balance both rosters. Beyond that, the Mets are taking on a higher AAV for a shorter duration while the Rangers lower their AAV but take on a longer commitment. Both players will be the same age(38) at the end of their respective contracts. The trade appears to be even although I can see Semien bouncing back from his injury more easily than Nimmo changing his career trajectory.
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