If this off-season has felt like “New York Mets: Version 2.0” to you, then you are not imagining it. Because nothing screams new era louder than trading away the heart of your clubhouse heartbeat. And that’s exactly what happened, given that the Mets on Sunday shipped their longtime outfielder, Brandon Nimmo, to the Texas Rangers.

No, this is not April, and they just sent the player who has been a Met for 14 years elsewhere! This was in exchange for second baseman Marcus Semien. Call it bold, call it cold, but that move says one thing—they have locked sentiments in a closet and tossed away the key.

For Nimmo, this moment is emotional, and he has a message for his fans. He shared on Instagram, clearly stunned at the move.

“To the fans I’ll always hold near and dear,” he wrote. “There is truly no way I could adequately put into words how much my tenure with the Mets has meant to me… The last 14 years have felt like a dream.”

But that dream ended abruptly. This has left the Mets fans reeling, because losing Brandon Nimmo — the club’s longest-tenured player — is a huge thing. Nimmo was, after all, the Mets’ longest tenured player with 1,066 games with the club dating from 2016. He also ranks sixth in runs record, eighth in OBP, and ninth in homers and 10th in total bases. 

However, this was something that was coming right? After a season that began with a blockbuster arrival of Soto and ended so embarrassingly, something needed to be done–and that something seems to be think rationally- let go of emotions. 

Moreover, the move for Semein makes a lot of sense, too. He offers better defense, stronger infield alignment, and a much-needed right-handed bat. He is coming off a modest offensive line last season, .230/.305/.364 with 15 home runs, and he recorded seven outs above average.

And as Stearns had said previously, “The first thing is to recognize that defense is as important as offense… Sometimes we forget about the other side of the ball.” And he did exactly that!

Fans simply need to accept that, if anything, this Nimmo move makes things for Pete Alonso and Diaz rather questionable. Last time, Steve Cohen was the one who convinced Polar Bear to come back, but this time, according to insider talks, even he is not making the player-related decisions. 

So don’t be surprised if they walk away too.

Braves steal a key piece from the Mets—and it might be New York’s biggest loss

However, it’s not all roses and champagne for the Mets this offseason. In fact, they might not have thought about it, but their first major loss of the off-season is their first base coach! Yes, Antoan Richardson is leaving New York for Atlanta.

Now, at first glance, it might not sound like anything dramatic. But Mets fans know exactly how big this news is. Richardson was the architect who helped the team’s baserunning transformation. He is the one who helped turn them into the best stolen base team in baseball. They have an eye-turning 89.1% success rate.

That wasn’t luck. That was coaching—from Richardson. And he is the only man who turned Soto into Rickey Henderson almost overnight. He swiped 38 bases in his first season with the New York Mets. That doesn’t happen by magic, does it?

And this story goes even beyond the stats.

“We’re friends for life,” Richardson told The New York Post. “Our relationship goes beyond the baseball field. That’s what made it tough to leave.” Soto obviously will be disappointed, and the Mets tried to keep Richardson, too—they offered to double his salary, but he still chose to head south and join the division rival.

For the Braves, this is huge, given they struggled with bases last season. So, them adding the best baserunning coach couldn’t be a better outcome. Even better is that it affects their rival not just from a tactical point of view, but emotionally too, given Richardson was of huge clubhouse importance.

Sometimes, the biggest off-season moves aren’t about the players at all—but the game changers who are coaching them.