Nimmo Approved: Inside the Rangers’ Bold Move From the Player Who Lived It

The Texas Rangers spent the Monday before Thanksgiving talking about the kind of move that shakes organizations, fan bases, and group chats from Arlington to Queens: trading Marcus Semien, the durable All-Star second baseman and cornerstone of their 2023 championship, to the New York Mets in exchange for longtime Met Brandon Nimmo and cash considerations.

On Monday, Rangers President of Baseball Operations Chris Young and GM Ross Fenstermaker met with the media to explain one of the most surprising deals of the offseason. Young opened with a mixture of gratitude and gravity.

“I'd like to start this by saying thank you to Marcus Semien and his family for everything that they've done for our organization,” Young said. “Marcus came here after a hundred-loss season… hoping to help us win our first World Series championship, which he did. And we are as an organization forever grateful.”

But for the Rangers, gratitude had to be balanced with cold-eyed assessment.

“In order to get great players, you have to give up great players,” Young said. “We felt like this was necessary for us, and we're very excited to welcome Brandon Nimmo.”

Young explained that the trade “developed over the last couple weeks” as part of the Rangers’ normal offseason “check-ins” with every club.

After discussing goals with the Mets and “brainstorming and talking through concepts that may work for both sides,” a framework took shape. The Rangers needed a lineup reset. The Mets needed a stabilizing veteran second baseman. Value had to match.

“We had to find common ground… and in the end we were able to land on a spot that we felt was fair and good for both sides.”

Asked why Nimmo fit so cleanly, Young didn’t mince words:

“Our offensive performance has not been where we needed it to be. Brandon Nimmo is a very, very tough at-bat. He's a grinder, well prepared, fits the profile of a player that is going to be very, very good for our lineup.”

Fenstermaker and Young both hinted that Nimmo is likely headed to right field, though not set in stone.

“I think it's likely where he'll play,” Young said. “But that's a conversation with Brandon, with Skip, with Wyatt.”

The Rangers now envision an outfield of Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter, and Brandon Nimmo, with Young calling it “one of the better outfield groups in the big leagues.”

The Rangers are losing not just Semien’s production but one of the most steady voices in the room. Young said it plainly:

“We're losing a winning player. We're bringing in a winning player.”

He spoke extensively about Nimmo’s hunger:

“He's had a taste of the playoffs but has not won a World Series. One of his goals is to win championships, and that aligns perfectly with ours.”

And after two seasons below expectations, Young raised the emotional temperature:

“Every single player should have a burning hunger right now.”

Nimmo had to approve the move, something that didn’t come lightly.

Young admitted: “The answer is yes, we were sweating it.”

He spoke openly about Nimmo’s deep Mets roots:

“He’s known one organization for 15 years. This uproots his family.”

Yet their conversation left Young feeling optimistic:

“There was complete alignment… how we view culture, chemistry, commitment to teammates.”

Young also revealed he did not talk to Jacob deGrom, despite reports of a Nimmo-deGrom conversation.

“These things are delicate… the more people involved, the harder it is to keep under wraps.”

When asked specifically about the Rangers’ home-park dynamics, Young had a clear case:

“Lefties have performed a little better than right-handed hitters in our ballpark.”

“On-base percentage is a skill that translates to any ballpark.”

Fenstermaker doubled down on Nimmo’s profile:

“He's been one of the more underrated players in this game, one of the top five or six outfielders in WAR over the last few years.”

But while the Rangers’ decision-makers spent weeks modeling scenarios, adjusting evaluations, and managing the emotions of moving on from a franchise pillar, the other half of this trade unfolded far more suddenly, in the living room of the man who had to approve it.

For Brandon Nimmo, this wasn’t just a transaction. It was a 72-hour upheaval, a life decision, a family decision, and a baseball reckoning that pushed him to examine where he’d been, where he wanted to go, and what mattered most in the next stage of his career.

And in his own words, here’s how it really happened.

Brandon explained that everything began on a quiet Thursday night with an unexpected phone call from David Stearns, unexpected in content, if not in occurrence. When he picked up, Stearns told him the Mets had a trade in place with the Texas Rangers if Brandon agreed to waive his no-trade clause. The news stunned him. He immediately began asking questions, eventually reaching the one that mattered most: Was he the only thing standing in the way of this deal being completed? Stearns confirmed that yes, the trade was essentially done pending his approval. Brandon told the Mets he needed time, this wasn’t the kind of decision made impulsively, especially with his daughter’s first birthday the next day. The Mets were fully accommodating, giving him space to deliberate.

After celebrating the birthday on Friday, he spent nearly every waking hour from Friday night through Sunday afternoon on the phone, gathering information, talking with family, and trying to understand what this decision truly meant. He said, “I had many conversations with the Mets. They weren’t shopping me. They told me that the Rangers approached them and that the Rangers were very persistent. The Mets told me they felt like they were in a position that this was the best move for them. And I totally understand from their perspective.”

Part of his evaluation was figuring out what Texas wanted to be, contenders or rebuilders, and what the next five years of his career would look like if he made the leap. His long conversation with Rangers GM Chris Young, someone he knew from his earliest big-league days, was a turning point. Brandon recalled, “I talked to CY for like an hour and a half. I needed to know where they were going. I needed to know, ‘Are you guys tearing this down? Are you guys building something?’ And he told me, ‘We have a five-year window to win a championship.’ Hearing that from him, knowing how competitive he is, meant a lot.”

He also spoke with Jacob deGrom, who offered a candid assessment of the culture and expectations in Texas. Brandon said, “Jake told me nothing but great things. He said it’s a great organization, great people, and that they’re trying to win. That helped a lot.”

But baseball logistics weren’t the only factors. Brandon had just finished building his family’s dream home in Port St. Lucie, a place designed with years of Mets springs, teammate gatherings, and long-term roots in mind. He admitted, “We literally just built a house there. Like, finished it. So this wasn’t easy. We pictured being there for a long time.” He had imagined being a Met for life, perhaps even, someday, a name on the wall at Citi Field. But sentiment alone wasn’t enough. He said it plainly and with conviction: “I want to win a World Series. That’s the goal. That’s the only goal. If this move gives me a better chance to do that, then it’s what I have to do.”

By Sunday afternoon, after 72 hours of conversations, reflection, and emotional calculus, everything clicked into place. Texas wanted him badly. They valued both his production and the way he carried himself. They wanted him hitting in the middle of the order, mentoring young players, and helping drive a clubhouse with championship aspirations. And the Mets, for reasons he respected, believed this was the right move for their future. So Brandon chose to waive the no-trade clause. In three days, a life he had expected to stay constant for years had changed direction completely.

And before he officially closed the door on his Mets chapter, he made sure to speak from the heart about what the fanbase and the city meant to him. As he put it, “The fanbase meant the world to me. From the moment I came up, they treated me like one of their own. They’re passionate, they’re loud, they care, and they hold you accountable, and I loved that. I always felt that they appreciated the way I played the game, and I appreciated them right back.”

He reflected on how deeply he valued wearing the uniform, saying, “I loved being a Met. I took a lot of pride in putting that jersey on every day. It became part of who I was. I grew up here, not in years, but in baseball life. Everything I am as a player, the Mets had a hand in that.”

Even as he prepared for his next chapter in Texas, he wanted Mets fans to hear him loud and clear:

“I hope they know how much I appreciated them. I really do. I always tried to play hard for them, to show up for them, to represent the Mets the right way. And I’ll always be grateful for the support they gave me and my family. That’ll never change.”

Pure Nimmo—heart on his sleeve, unfiltered, unflinching—a reminder that though Texas was next, Queens would always be home.

Here is the full zoom press conference :