Marcus Semien surprised by trade to Mets but excited to play in New York

NEW YORK (AP) — A month ago, Marcus Semien was a father of four with three years left on a lucrative contract in Texas.

Needless to say, there’s been a couple of big changes around the house lately.

Three weeks after he and his wife, Tarah, welcomed their fifth child, Semien was traded by the Rangers to the New York Mets on Monday for veteran outfielder Brandon Nimmo.

And just like that, the Gold Glove second baseman was headed to a new city and his fifth major league team — first in the National League.

“It was surprising. Just understanding that, hey, I signed here on a long-term deal four years ago,” Semien said Tuesday via Zoom. “But once again, I’m very conscious of what’s going on in the business side of baseball, just kind of paying attention to everything. So in the back of my mind, I knew something could always happen.”

Eager to improve their defense, the Mets agreed to send the 32-year-old Nimmo — their longest-tenured player — and $5 million to Texas for Semien, who at 35 has three seasons and $72 million remaining on the $175 million, seven-year contract he signed with the Rangers in December 2021.

“I want to play until they tell me to go home,” Semien said. “At this point in my career it feels extremely good to have a team that believes in me, sees what I do well, wants to help me.”

Semien said he was training last Friday when he received a call from agent Scott Boras informing him a deal could be forthcoming. But the sides were waiting to hear if Nimmo would waive the no-trade provision in the $162 million, eight-year contract he signed with New York after the 2022 season, so Semien was asked to keep quiet for a while.

He spoke only to family at first, until news of the agreement broke Sunday. That’s when Semien called former Texas teammate Max Scherzer to ask him about playing in New York. Scherzer pitched for the Mets from 2022-23.

“I just asked him a lot more about family stuff more than baseball stuff, because I know he has four kids of his own, and just kind of bounced some things off of him, about how we’re going to do things moving forward,” Semien said.

“In terms of baseball itself, I couldn’t be more excited to play in a large market, play in front of a fan base that brings energy every single night, because that brings the best out of me.”

Semien grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended the University of California, Berkeley, but said New York was his favorite city to play in on the road.

He was sidelined with a broken foot when Texas took two of three from the Mets at Citi Field in September.

“I just sat back and watched and I liked the passion that the Mets players were playing with,” Semien said. “I liked the young pitching staff that they were putting out there and the stuff that those guys had. And I’ve just been thinking about that series and imagining myself on that side now, and it makes me really excited.”

Semien won his second Gold Glove this season despite missing the final 5 1/2 weeks after fouling a pitch off his foot Aug. 20. That was only the second time he was on the injured list in 13 big league seasons. He’s played at least 155 games eight times.

“I want to be a player who plays every single day. I want to be a player who runs every single ball out,” he said. “I take a ton of pride in keeping my body healthy, making sure my defense is on point.

“I feel like when I play every day, I get better. Experience is key in this game. Playing every day, getting better throughout the year is something that I want to do.”

Semien, a three-time All-Star, has finished third in AL MVP voting three times with three different teams: the Oakland Athletics in 2019, the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021 and Texas in 2023, when he helped the Rangers win their lone World Series title.

His OPS dipped to .699 in 2024 and .669 this year, but he thinks new Mets hitting coaches Jeff Albert and Troy Snitker can help him regain his stroke at the plate.

“Offensively, I think that I still have a lot to offer,” Semien said. “I’m disappointed in the way that I performed offensively last year.”

He knows it will be no easy task stepping into the lineup for the popular and respected Nimmo, who compiled a .760 OPS this year and set career highs with 25 homers and 92 RBIs.

“I understand how good of a clubhouse presence Brandon was. I understand how much of a fan favorite Brandon was, and I feel for the Mets fans when you lose a player who’s been present and who’s been such a fixture in that lineup and in the community and has a great personality and such a nice guy,” Semien said.

“I want to get to know the fans, get to know the community, let my game do the talking. And I think I definitely will be a presence in that locker room that guys can lean on. That’s always a goal of mine. … Hopefully Brandon, the things that he did, hopefully I can fill in and do as well.”

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