On Sunday evening, baseball fans everywhere were stunned by the news that the Mets and Rangers got together on a trade that sends Marcus Semien to New York and Brandon Nimmo to Texas. Assuming Nimmo waives his no-trade clause (which feels likely if this is being reported so widely), this trade is a mixed bag for Atlanta Braves fans at first glance.
If you are the pessimistic type, the Mets are adding an aging, but generally productive and very valuable player to their roster and that stinks. It also removes the admittedly remote possibility that the Braves could add Semien and hope he can still play shortstop. On the flip side, it does get Nimmo and his truly obnoxious habit air about him (not to mention the cringey "hustling" to first base on walks thing) out of the National League altogether and that is delightful. Plus, it puts the Mets on the hook for another contract that is not likely to age well.
The problem, though, is that now the Mets have an opening in the outfield and the best free agent on the market period, Kyle Tucker, could (and perhaps will) slot right into that spot.
Braves fans should worry that Marcus Semien trade is a precursor to the Mets signing Kyle Tucker
We know how the Mets and Steve Cohen like to operate. Cohen is desperate to delivery a World Series title to secure his legacy and is not the least bit afraid to throw cash around to do it. Under normal circumstances, New York would have been considered a top suitor for Tucker by the experts based solely on the money involved, but his fit on the Mets' roster with Nimmo around was a little sketchy especially given how much money Nimmo is owed.
Now, Nimmo is out of the picture and the Mets find themselves with that money shifted to the infield in Semien and they need at least one impact outfielder. With Tucker expected to get $350+ million with his next contract, there isn't a greater fit on paper than these two.
Whatever the Mets' actual plans are, they are clearly up to something and that should be disconcerting for Braves fans right now. Atlanta can only control so much when it comes to their rivals, but New York isn't going to sit back this offseason and let the Braves regroup. This trade could just be only the beginning and that makes Alex Anthopoulos' job that much harder.