Rangers trade Marcus Semien to Mets for Brandon Nimmo and cash

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers have traded Gold Glove second baseman Marcus Semien to the New York Mets in exchange for outfielder Brandon Nimmo and cash.

The deal announced Monday ends Nimmo's 10-year run with the Mets to start his career. A person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press that Nimmo agreed to waive the no-trade provision in the $162 million, eight-year contract he signed after becoming a free agent for the first time after the 2022 season. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because that detail wasn't released.

Nimmo is due annual salaries of $20.25 million each season through 2030, and the 32-year-old left-handed hitter will get an additional $1 million assignment bonus from the Mets for waiving the no-trade provision. As part of the trade, the Mets will send Texas $5 million by Sept. 18.

Semien has three seasons and $72 million remaining on the $175 million, seven-year contract he signed with the Rangers in December 2021. That was at the same time they, also in free agency, added World Series MVP shortstop Corey Seager on a $325 million, 10-year contract.

That half-billion dollar middle infield helped the Rangers win their only World Series title in 2023. But that was the only winning record the past nine seasons for the team that this year finished .500 (81-81) for the first time in franchise history.

Slugging outfielder Adolis García, switch-hitting catcher Jonah Heim and right-handed reliever Josh Sborz, three other players who had significant roles in the World Series championship, all became free agents Friday when the Rangers didn’t tender any of them contracts for 2026.

The 35-year-old Semien won his second Gold Glove this season, even though he missed the final 5 1/2 weeks, not playing again after fouling a pitch off his foot Aug. 20. That was only the second time in his 13 big league seasons he has been on the injured list.

Before that injury, Semien had missed only six of the Rangers’ 615 games since joining them before the 2022 season. He hit .230 with 15 homers, 62 RBIs and 62 runs in 127 games this year, and .249 with 93 homers and 319 RBIs in his four seasons in Texas.

In 1,629 career games with the Chicago White Sox (2013-14), Oakland (2015-20), Toronto (2021) and Texas, the three-time All-Star has a .253 batting average with 253 homers and 801 RBIs. He set career highs with 45 homers and 102 RBIs in his only season with Blue Jays before going to Texas in free agency.

Nimmo was drafted 13th overall out of high school by the Mets in the 2011 amateur draft. He has a .364 career on-base percentage, including 583 starts as a leadoff hitter. He has scored at least 81 runs in each of the past three seasons since a career-best 102 in 2022.

Most of his at-bats this season were from the middle of the batting order, and he hit .262 — the same as his career average — with single-season highs of 25 homers and 92 RBIs in 155 games. He has 135 homers and 463 RBIs in his 1,066 games.

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Ron Blum reported from New York.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB