Corey Oswalt/Photo by Ed Delany
In a shocking move, the New York Mets tweeted that Brandon Nimmo would be demoted to the Las Vegas 51s and Corey Oswalt would be promoted to the big-league club.
Even though this move seems temporary, it’s still surprising to see the Mets send their best bat off-the-bench to AAA.
Nimmo quickly became a fan-favorite with his excellent play and charming smile, but with the logjam in outfield, it became evident that he wouldn’t get regular playing time. The 25-year-old started his season off strong, slashing .333/.600/.444 and filling in adequately for Michael Conforto.
Earlier in the day, Matt Ehalt of The Record reported that the Mets were going to call up RHP Corey Oswalt. Even though the Mets added him to the 40-man roster last fall, they still needed to clear a 25-man spot for him and Nimmo’s demotion will allow one to open up.
Oswalt was selected in the seventh round of 2012 draft. The 24-year-old had an outstanding 2017 campaign, posting a 2.28 ERA with 119 strikeouts and was deservingly named the Eastern League Player of the Year. With his 2017 success, he figured to be one of the first Major-League call-ups.
The Mets bullpen has been taxed heavily throughout the past few games so Oswalt will provide depth should a Met starter fail to go deep into a game.
MetsMinors.net recently ranked him as the 12th overall ranked prospect and 4th best pitching prospect in the Mets system.
Nimmo has to stay in the minors for 10 days unless someone is put on the disabled list then he can be recalled earlier. The Mets would lose their final option on Nimmo if he spends at least 20 days in the minors.
