The Mets and Rangers are in the finishing stages of a surprising one-for-one trade that would send second baseman Marcus Semien to Queens in exchange for outfielder Brandon Nimmo, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. The Athletic’s Will Sammon reports that Nimmo has agreed to waive his no-trade clause to allow the deal to proceed.
Reports emerged earlier this week that the Mets were open to moving Nimmo, so it isn’t entirely shocking to see the veteran outfielder’s time in New York come to an end. However, a straight-up swap for Semien is eye-opening, given how Semien is coming off a dismal year at the plate and comes with a significant future price tag in his own right.
Semien has $72MM and three seasons remaining on the seven-year, $175MM free agent deal he signed with Texas during the 2021-22 offseason. Nimmo is owed $101.25MM through the 2030 season, as he has completed three years of the eight-year, $162MM free agent he signed to remain with the Mets in December 2022. Since luxury tax figures are re-calculated to account for just remaining money owed in the wake of trades, Semien’s tax number is $24MM, and Nimmo has a $20.25MM figure.
The Mets are therefore taking on a slightly bigger tax hit while reducing the amount of overall dollars owed, while the Rangers are reducing their tax number but adding more overall money to their books. That adds an interesting wrinkle for a Texas club that was expected to reduce payroll this winter, though it is worth noting that the Rangers cleared a good chunk of money off the books (a projected $21.1MM) on Friday with four non-tenders.
More to come…
