Major League Baseball’s hot stove season is cooking! With early action across MLB’s offseason, more huge news was dropped in the player transaction market late on Sunday afternoon.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the New York Mets are acquiring second baseman Marcus Semien from the Texas Rangers in return for Brandon Nimmo. While there have been a few small trades that have taken place across MLB, this is by far the biggest to this point.
More MLB on Heavy: Tigers Reportedly Interested in Signing 2-Time All-Star for Positional Change
Mets Acquiring Marcus Semien for Brandon Nimmo in Massive Offseason Trade
This is a massive offseason trade in MLB. The reports have suggested that the Texas Rangers have been making an attempt to cut payroll. Well, here’s their first big move in doing so, even though they are also taking some on in Nimmo’s big contract. Marcus Semien is signed through 2028 on a seven-year, $175 million deal.
After a semi-down 2025 season, Texas believed it was time to move on from Semien, but he comes to Queens with a handful of accolades to his name. Semien is a three-time All-Star, 2X Silver Slugger, and two-time Gold Glove winner.
GettyTexas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien
Marcus Semien played in 127 games this season and posted a .230 average and 97 OPS+. Between 2021 and 2024, Semien was regarded as one of the best middle infielders in MLB. His best season as a pro came in 2021 when he hit 45 home runs and drove in 102 runs. Before this season, Semien had been known as pretty much a lock to play all 162 games.
The New York Mets were expected to be very aggressive this offseason, and this could be the first of several moves this winter. This first one is a massive one across MLB. This major move even comes before the annual Winter Meetings, where the hot stove is at its hottest across the league.
More MLB on Heavy: Braves-Pirates Trade Idea Sends All-Star Starter to Atlanta
Brandon Nimmo Heads to Texas Rangers in Player-Swap
As for what the Mets are giving up, it’s outfielder Brandon Nimmo. Nimmo comes with no accolades, but he’s been a pillar in the Mets organization for the past 10 seasons. New York is the only team he’s played for.
He’s under contract through the 2030 season on an eight-year, $162 million deal. So while the Rangers are attempting to cut payroll, this may be a move to actually get better and dump off Marcus Semien.
Nimmo has 135 career home runs with the Mets in 1066 games. In 2025, Nimmo hit 25 home runs and posted an OPS+ of 113. The 32-year-old outfielder has been consistently around 20 home runs over the past four seasons.
It’s been well-reported that the New York Mets are making a better attempt at becoming better on defense, and that may be the main point of this deal. However, the early aggression in the market begs the question of what may remain in store for both these organizations throughout the offseason.
More MLB on Heavy: Should the Braves Target this Redsâ 4.03 ERA Starter in Trade to Bolster Starting Rotation?
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post BREAKING: Mets Acquiring Rangers’ Marcus Semien in Blockbuster Trade appeared first on Heavy Sports.