Brandon Nimmo placed on injured list by New York Mets

NEW YORK -- Brandon Nimmo was placed on the injured list with a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder on Saturday, ending the season for the New York Mets' leadoff hitter and center fielder.

Nimmo was injured Thursday night, when he tried making a diving catch or Jorge Soler's sinking liner to center. An MRI Friday showed no structural damage and the AC joint should heal with a couple weeks of rest.

"Was trying to go down and stabilize with my right arm, and when I went down, the grass was wet and so it kind of slipped out from under me," Nimmo said before Saturday's doubleheader against Philadelphia. "I hit the elbow and when I hit the elbow, it jarred my shoulder and just kind of hit it in the wrong spot."

Nimmo said he could have received a cortisone shot and potentially avoided an IL stint if it was earlier in the season.

"Nothing serious, but something that takes 10 to 14 days to resolve and we obviously don't have that time," Nimmo said.

Nimmo set career highs with 24 homers and 68 RBIs in 152 games while matching his bests in batting average (.274) and doubles (30). The 30-year-old, completing the first year of a $162 million, eight-year deal, has played in 303 of 324 games the last two seasons after playing 206 games from 2019-21.

"I really think that the last two years have been very productive -- 150 games-plus for both of them and that's really hard to find from a center-field position," Nimmo said.

To replace Nimmo, the Mets recalled catcher Michael Pérez from Triple-A Syracuse.