The Mets and Rangers pulled off the first blockbuster trade of the MLB offseason on Sunday, as the two sides are swapping expensive, big-name players to fill needs.
ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan reports New York and Texas are finalizing a deal that would send infielder Marcus Semien to Queens in exchange for outfielder Brandon Nimmo. It’s a deal that seemingly came out of nowhere, as neither player was considered a prime trade candidate this winter.
The additions will mark big changes to each team’s lineup. Here’s a look at what each team is getting and who came out on the better end of the deal.
Mets Acquire: Marcus Semien
The Mets got older with this deal, but filled a pretty massive hole in the infield. Jeff McNeil has underperformed since signing a four-year, $50 million deal before the 2023 season. He isn’t unusable at second base, but Semien could represent a marked improvement at the position.
Semien is coming off back-to-back disappointing seasons at the plate, but he has more upside than McNeil, and is a far better defender. The 35-year-old won his second Gold Glove in 2025.
The issue here is Semien’s bat, which has gone quiet since he won a Silver Slugger while leading the Rangers to a World Series title in 2023. During that season, he slashed .276/.348/.478, with 29 home runs, 100 RBIs, a wRC+ of 128, and tied a career-high with 6.5 fWAR. In the two seasons since, he has failed to top a .700 OPS.
In 2025, Semien slashed .230/.305/.364, with 15 home runs, 62 RBIs, and a full-season career-low wRC+ of 89 in 127 games. He produced 2.1 fWAR, but most of that came from his exceptional defense at second base, where he had seven outs above average.
Semien just turned 35, and still has three seasons remaining on the seven-year, $175 million deal he signed with the Rangers in December of 2021. He’s under contract through 2028 and will make $26 million in each of the next two seasons, before making $20 million in the final year.
The Mets desperately wanted to improve defensively this offseason. This deal did this. But they’ll need Semien’s bat to improve, or he’ll just be an expensive, aging contract. The good news is, they moved off of Nimmo’s deal, which will make room for Semien’s, and have several different paths to replacing Nimmo in the outfield.
Grade: B-
Rangers Acquire: Brandon Nimmo
Texas had an aging roster with a lot of money committed to a few players. Semien, Corey Seager, Jacob deGrom, and Nathan Eovaldi were all set to make more than $25 million in 2026. The team is looking to cut payroll. While this deal takes on more long-term money, it cuts the yearly bill down while adding a power bat to the outfield, something sorely needed.
Nimmo has played his entire career for the Mets, and his best full season came in 2022, when he slashed .274/.367/.433, with 15 home runs, 64 RBIs, 102 runs scored, and a 132 wRC+. That 5.5 fWAR season earned him an eight-year, $162 million deal from New York. The former first-round pick has been a solid contributor, but hasn’t quite hit that high since.
In 2025, he slashed .262/.324/.436, with career-highs in home runs (25), and RBIs (92), and a 114 wRC+. Thanks to average to below-average defense in left field, his fWAR was only 3.0. He’s a corner outfielder-only at this point, and his value will largely come from his bat moving forward.
Nimmo is owed $102.5 million over the next five seasons, but at $20.5 million per year, the Rangers will actually save money over the next three years.
After the Rangers non-tendered Adolis Garcia on Friday, they had an opening in the outfield alongside Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter. Texas needed to save money and find a solid outfield bat to fill that role.
Perhaps a knock-on effect of this deal is that moving Semien opens a spot on the infield—and top prospect, shortstop Sebastian Walcott, is almost big league ready. This could be the move that gets him to the majors.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Brandon Nimmo-Marcus Semien Trade Grades: Did Mets or Rangers Win the Deal?.
