Nimmo squashes claims of tension in 2025 Mets' clubhouse 

Brandon Nimmo addressed his trade away from the Mets and his relationship with Francisco Lindor this week in an interview with The Athletic (subscription required).

Nimmo, the longest-tenured Met, was traded to the Rangers for Marcus Semien in November after the Mets had a tumultuous season that ended with them missing the playoffs.

After the season, reports emerged that there might have been tensions within the Mets' clubhouse, including over which player -- among the team leaders like Nimmo and Lindor -- might inherit the Mets captain role last held by David Wright. But Nimmo told The Athletic that was never an issue. (Mets owner Steve Cohen recently addressed the Mets' captaincy, saying that as long as he owns the team, the Mets will never have a captain.)

"I never felt any animosity from Francisco about a captain spot," Nimmo told The Athletic. "I never felt it at all. I always told anybody that asked about it: 'I don’t need a "C" on my chest to know that I have an impact on this clubhouse.'"

Nimmo spoke highly of Lindor and what he means to New York, even as he seeks to take on a new leadership role with the Rangers and mentor young players like Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter.

"I don't think, by any means, does Francisco having a C or not having a C change the way that he goes about his business," Nimmo told The Athletic. "Francisco was nothing but kind, nothing but an amazing teammate, an amazing leader."

Nimmo also discussed the trade to Texas after 15 years in the Mets organization, which involved him waiving a full no-trade clause.

Nimmo told The Athletic that the trade "definitely was surprising," and that he spent five days weighing the deal before he decided to accept it.

Nimmo said Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns told him he didn't shop Nimmo around, but that both teams wanted to make the trade.

"If you were untouchable, David would have presented it and said, 'But we don’t want you to go,'" Nimmo told The Athletic.

Nimmo said Cohen backed Stearns in making the trade. Nimmo and Cohen have developed a strong relationship over the years since Cohen acquired the Mets, and Cohen told Nimmo it was hard for him to make the trade because of that, but he wanted Stearns to have the freedom to run the team.

Nimmo told The Athletic that when Stearns brought the trade to him, as the Mets try to bounce back in 2026, Nimmo asked him: "Why am I not part of the solution?"

Nimmo said Stearns told him that the Mets wanted to clear the way for their young outfield prospects like Carson Benge (MLB's No. 16 overall prospect), and Nimmo's sentiment that his days in New York might be numbered even if he nixed the deal and stayed ultimately helped persuade him to accept the trade.

"There was this feeling of, I’m extremely wanted in one situation, and it's not that I’m not wanted on the other side, but you’re possibly on your way out -- or you’re just kind of always looking over your shoulder on the other side of things," Nimmo told The Athletic. "It was just like, 'We’ve decided on this trade, we feel like it’s good for our organization and you’re really the only thing standing in the way.'"