The cost of the Mets payroll keeps getting bigger.
New York signed two players Thursday, bringing back outfielder Brandon Nimmo on a eight-year, $162 million contract and adding reliever David Robertson on a one-year, $10 million deal, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
The deal keeps the Mets’ longtime outfielder in New York and adds to the biggest payroll in baseball. It’s the second richest contract in Mets history by total value, behind Francisco Lindor‘s 10-year, $341 million deal signed prior to the 2021 season.
Nimmo has spent his entire professional career with the Mets, who drafted him in the first round in 2011.
The 29-year-old strung together the best consecutive seasons of his career in 2021 and 2022. Last season, Nimmo hit .274/.367/.433 with 16 homers in 151 games while posting a 5.0 bWAR. In 2021, Nimmo played in 92 games with stints on the injured list for a bruised hand and a strained hamstring, hitting .292/.401/.437 with eight homers and 3.6 bWAR.
The Mets star has made big strides defensively in center field in recent seasons as well.
Robertson posted a comeback campaign in 2022, his strongest season since 2018 with the Yankees. In 36 games with the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies, Robertson posted a 2.40 ERA in 58 games.
The righty played a big role for Philadelphia in the playoffs, pitching in eight games during the team’s run to the World Series, allowing just one run in 7.2 innings pitched with 11 strikeouts and five walks.
The Mets signed closer Edwin Díaz to a five-year, $102 million deal to kick off their spending spree this off-season.
With both Nimmo’s and Robertson’s deals, the Mets payroll heading into next season is projected to be around $320 million. They would be the first team ever to open the season with a $300 million payroll, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.