Mets' Brandon Nimmo says old ACL injury behind current knee pain
Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo runs during a spring training workout in Port St. Lucie, Fla., on Feb. 18. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Brandon Nimmo revealed Friday that his right knee soreness/pain stems from meniscus and cartilage issues related to his ACL reconstruction 15 years ago.
Still dealing with that discomfort, Nimmo said it is “realistic” for him to be ready for Opening Day as a DH, at minimum. He doesn’t have specific plans to get back in leftfield during exhibition games because he needs to wait until he feels close to 100%.
Lately, he said, he has run at about 80% of full speed — down from 91% at the start of spring training, when the only concern was returning from plantar fasciitis in his left foot (currently not a problem, Nimmo said).
Nimmo indicated that the gel injection he received last weekend, meant to help lubricate his knee, hasn’t had its full impact yet. He said it can be a “slow process” that takes two or three weeks in some cases.
“The diagnosis is you’re an athlete and you kinda have been playing in the big leagues, professional sports for a while now. It’s one of those things where you start to need a little bit of extra help on some things,” Nimmo said. “The hope is you can still go many more years without having arthroscopic surgery or anything like that. But obviously, I don’t know the future. We’ll deal with that when we get there. Right now, this is the best course of action.
“It’s something I’ve dealt with for a long time in my career and had no problems with. So [I’m] hopeful that once we get this under control, we’ll go a lot longer time without dealing with it.”
Nimmo reported feeling fine after returning to the lineup Thursday and plans to play again Saturday.
Notes & quotes: Kodai Senga allowed the Cardinals two runs and seven hits in 3 1/3 innings (53 pitches), a workload virtually identical to what he did Sunday in a minor-league scrimmage. Carlos Mendoza said that was by design, in line with the Mets’ careful buildup plans. “There’s nothing more to it,” he said . . . The Mets tied the Cardinals, 3-3. Juan Soto hit his team-leading fourth home run.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
