Brandon Nimmo week by week with ankle and knee sprains – The Mercury News

Opening Day is in jeopardy for Brandon Nimmo.

The Mets avoided the worst with the midfielder, who left a Grapefruit League game with an ankle injury on Friday night. Images taken Saturday morning showed a low grade sprain in his right knee and ankle and he is considered week to week.

General manager Billy Eppler says the club are relieved to see no structural damage to Nimmo’s ankle or knee. A week-by-week schedule doesn’t look promising and means he probably won’t be ready to start the season, but Eppler seemed to have some optimism with just under two weeks left in spring training.

Nimmo was injured sliding to second base Friday night against the Miami Marlins at Clover Park. He appeared to lock his knee awkwardly and coach Buck Showalter said Nimmo caught a twinge in his ankle, but overall he was feeling good.

Without Nimmo, the Mets have a gap to fill defensively in center field and at the top of the order. His on base skills and speed, plus his ability to hit hard from the left side, made him a valuable starting hitter. The depth of the Mets’ outfield is a little narrow with Tommy Pham and Tim Locastro, but Locastro brings speed, so Nimmo’s injury could open up a spot for him on the Major League team.

The Mets assigned two other outfielders to the minor league camp on Saturday, sending Jaylin Davis and Abraham Almonte to the other side of the compound.

In other injury news, left-hander Jose Quintana underwent bone graft surgery on Friday and the procedure went well. It’s been a tough week for the Mets, with the club seeing the losses of Quintana, right-handers Bryce Montes de Oca and Sam Coonrod, as well as Edwin Diaz. Nimmo’s injury is unfortunate, but the Mets are happy to hear it’s only moderate.

()