Brandon Nimmo is playing through pain.
The Mets outfielder told The Athletic that he has plantar fasciitis in his left foot, something he’s been dealing with since May, which could potentially explain his down season.
The 31-year-old said he aggravated the injury in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Phillies last Tuesday while either faking down the third-base line or scoring on Starling Marte’s two-run single.
“Right now it hurts pretty good,” Nimmo told The Athletic after the Mets got crushed by the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS Sunday night. “The second-to-last game against Philadelphia, I did something on the field and made it quite a bit worse. … When it gets inflamed and flares up, it’s a harder thing to calm down.”
Nimmo, who signed an eight-year, $162 million contract before the 2023 season, went 0-for-3 on Sunday and was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning.
After going 7-for-21 in the Mets’ first five games of the 2024 MLB playoffs, Nimmo is 0-for-8 with three walks in the last three games.
While he hit 23 home runs with a career-high 90 RBIs during the regular season, his batting average plummeted 50 points to .224, his on-base percentage fell 36 points to .327 and his slugging was down 67 points to .399.
His 107 OPS-plus was the lowest since his 32-game debut season in 2016.
While the injury got “better” between the end of the NLDS and Sunday, Nimmo says running is painful, though it doesn’t bother him as much while hitting.
“I think when I really need it, I’m probably not 100 percent, but I can get going pretty good,” Nimmo told The Athletic. “But it’s uncomfortable.”
Nimmo says he needs “at least a PRP injection” after the season but for now is relying on painkillers, anti-inflammatories, massaging and stretching to stay on the field — which he vows to do.
“It’s the NLCS,” Nimmo told the website. “You do whatever you can in order to get out there and help in any way you can.”