New Rangers Outfielder Deals with Spring Training Growing Pains in Debut

The Texas Rangers are counting on Brandon Nimmo as he adjusts to a new team and to a new position.

A Texas Rangers cap and baseball mitt. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

As much as Texas Rangers fans anticipated the spring training debut of Jacob deGrom on Wednesday, he wasn’t the only high-profile player to debut against Team Brazil.

Brandon Nimmo, Texas’ new right fielder, started his first game of the spring and batted leadoff. He went 1-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout before he exited the game. He also played right field for the first time in the Majors in nearly six years.

So, yes, he’s been adjusting in many ways this spring.

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“I feel pretty decent right now,” he said to Rangers beat writers in Surprise, Ariz., on Wednesday. “It's not terrible. There’s growing pains coming back into the season and it's always nice to have a little break and let your body recover. But then getting back into game speed is always a challenge.”

Brandon Nimmo’s First Game Out

Texas Rangers outfielder Brandon Nimmo. | Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images

Nimmo struck out in his first plate appearance of the game. In the third inning he drew a walk and later scored on a Danny Jansen RBI double in the third inning. He then claimed his hit in the fourth inning as he singled to right fielder Lucas Ramirez, who happens to be the youngest son of MLB legend Manny Ramirez. After that, Texas pulled him from the game for Andrew Velazquez.

Nimmo came to the Rangers in a trade from the New York Mets for second baseman Marcus Semien. Since he arrived in Surprise, he’s been on his own ramp-up schedule, one that he’s used for several years to prepare for opening day and approved by Rangers manager Skip Schumaker. Nimmo said he has a “floating number” of at-bats that he needs to be ready for the season. That could include at-bats that he gets on the back fields in ‘B’ games.

“Right now, I’m just trying to focus on being short [with the swing] and getting the at bats, trying to see the ball well and then make little adjustments from there,” he said.

The biggest adjustment for him could be playing right field. He’s been a center fielder and left fielder for most of his career. The Rangers are intent on having Wyatt Langford in left field and Evan Carter in center field — or vice versa. Nimmo has agreed to work in right field and prepare to be the starter there.

He said the position is not completely foreign to him. He’s played 93 games there but hasn’t played there since 2020.

“It's kind of like left field just backwards,” Nimmo said with a chuckle.

The 32-year-old from Cheyenne, Wyo., is expected to bat leadoff in the regular season. In a 10-year career with the Mets he slashed .262/.364/.438 with 135 home runs and 462 RBI. He said early in his career he was asked to be primarily an “on-base guy,” setting the table for power hitters. Now, he’s emerged as a slugger that can hit 20 home runs a season.