Sources: Mets, Nimmo agree on 8 years, $162M

The Mets‘ payroll keeps getting bigger.

New York signed two players Thursday, bringing back outfielder Brandon Nimmo on a eight-year, $162 million contract and adding reliever David Robertson on a one-year, $10 million deal, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

The deal keeps Nimmo in New York and adds to the biggest payroll in baseball. It’s the second-richest contract in Mets history by total value, behind Francisco Lindor‘s 10-year, $341 million deal signed prior to the 2021 season.

Nimmo has spent his entire professional career with the Mets, who drafted him in the first round in 2011.

The 29-year-old strung together the best consecutive seasons of his career in 2021 and ’22. Last season, Nimmo hit .274/.367/.433 with 16 homers in 151 games while posting a 5.0 bWAR. In 2021, Nimmo played in 92 games with stints on the injured list for a bruised hand and a strained hamstring, hitting .292/.401/.437 with eight homers and 3.6 bWAR.

The Mets star has made big strides defensively in center field in recent seasons as well.

Robertson posted a comeback campaign in 2022, his strongest season since 2018 with the Yankees. In 36 games with the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies, Robertson posted a 2.40 ERA in 58 games.

The righty played a big role for Philadelphia in the playoffs, pitching in eight games during the team’s run to the World Series, allowing just one run in 7⅔ innings pitched with 11 strikeouts and five walks.

The Mets signed closer Edwin Díaz to a five-year, $102 million deal to kick off their spending spree this offseason and also added three-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander to a two-year, $86.66 million deal.

With both Nimmo’s and Robertson’s deals, the Mets’ payroll heading into next season is projected to be around $320 million. They would be the first team ever to open the season with a $300 million payroll, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

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