Brandon Nimmo gets his shot, Jacob deGrom’s elite company, Terry Collins’ record

Brandon Nimmo’s 2017 hasn’t exactly gone as planned, which makes it just like the rest of his professional career to this point. When the Mets made him their first-round pick back in 2011, few thought he would still be struggling to establish himself at the major league level six years later. But injuries have plagued him throughout his career and he doesn’t resemble the guy who many, many people, including The Star-Ledger’s Andy McCullough, called a five-tool player back when he was drafted.

This year alone he was slated to start the year with the Mets but instead strained his right hamstring while playing in the World Baseball Classic. During his rehab from that he had a knee issue. And then he got off to a horrible start in Las Vegas. He turned that around and ended up making his 2017 major league debut on June 18. On July 4 he had a 3-hit game. And then came a collapsed lung.

He returned to the Mets on July 30. Since that time the club has traded outfielders Jay Bruce and Curtis Granderson and lost Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto to injury. So, Nimmo will be playing as long as he’s healthy. He’s impressed as a pinch-hitter with the Mets this year. Now he’ll get the chance to be a starter and face both lefties and righties. Both he and Juan Lagares will be hoping to earn more playing time in 2018 with their play down the stretch.

But to do that, both will have to turn up their production. Since being activated from the disabled list, Lagares has a .209/.244/.256 line in 46 PA. And Nimmo’s not much better with a .200/.347/.275 line in 50 PA since the end of July. Lagares has the advantage of being a good defensive player in center field. Speculation has it that Nimmo is not good enough to play center in more than a pinch – you know, they used to say that about Lagares, too – and won’t get much, if any, time in center as long as Lagares is healthy.

SUNDAY, BLOODY SUNDAY – The Mets have not really enjoyed playing the final day of the weekend this year. They’ve lost seven of their last eight games on Sunday and are 6-14 overall this season. And if Sundays weren’t bad enough, the Mets get to play the Nationals, who they enter the day with a 4-10 record this season. And if that didn’t scare you, they get to play a day-night doubleheader. And for the cherry on this frightful sundae, the Mets are going to throw Tommy Milone, he of the 10.26 ERA for the Mets this season, and Seth Lugo, making his first start after not pitching in 15 days. After a solid start to his 2017, Lugo has a 5.61 ERA in his last eight games and opposing hitters have an .825 OPS against him in that span. This could be a very ugly day.

TRYING TO STAY ON THE BACK 40 – Every year teams have a 40-man roster crunch. This year the Mets have traded away five impending free agents – and have already filled their spots on the 40-man roster – and have two players on the 60-day DL who will have to be added back to the 40-man during the offseason. Plus there will be minor leaguers who need to be added to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. Which means guys in the majors right now are pitching for their future in the organization.

Chasen Bradford has a 2.57 ERA, a 0.952 WHIP and a 2.71 K/BB ratio. Erik Goeddel has a 3.86 ERA, a 1.157 WHIP and a 3.11 K/BB rate. Josh Smoker’s season-long numbers are terrible. But he’s a lefty and in his last seven games he has a 1.23 ERA with 10 Ks in 7.1 IP. All three of these guys are on the fence and will need to impress in the final five weeks if they hope to be with the Mets next year.

THE COMPANY YOU KEEP – Friday night against the Nationals, Jacob deGrom struck out 10 and pushed his season-long strikeout total to 201. It was his second time with over 200 strikeouts and made him just the fourth player in team history to reach that mark multiple times. Tom Seaver did it nine straight years, from 1968-1976. Dwight Gooden did it four times, 1984-1986 and again in 1990. David Cone did it four times in five years from 1988-1992, missing only in 1989 when he had 190. In addition to this season, deGrom had 205 strikeouts in 2015.

JUST WIN, BABY – Terry Collins passed Bobby Valentine and is now in second place among Mets managers with 537 wins. He trails only Davey Johnson, who won 595 games with the club. If Collins were to manage the Mets in 2018, he would become the all-time leader. But Collins is 68 years old and is on the last year of his contract. There’s even speculation the Mets may let him go before the end of the year, even if from this corner that seems unlikely. Still, at this point it seems the odds are stacked against Collins being in the Mets’ dugout next season.