New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo was out of Monday night’s lineup against the host Washington Nationals due to an early morning fainting episode in which he cut his head.
The incident happened shortly after 5 a.m. in Nimmo’s hotel room.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that Nimmo didn’t have a concussion. The 31-year-old underwent tests that included a CT scan and EKG.
“He went through all the tests this morning,” Mendoza told reporters before Monday’s game. “Wanted to make sure we weren’t missing anything. Luckily everything came back negative, so I think we got lucky there.”
Nimmo, who was wearing a bandage on his forehead, told reporters he awoke around 5:15 a.m. and didn’t feel good. He said he went to the bathroom and cramped before fainting. Nimmo said that when he regained his senses, his forehead was bleeding and he was unsure why.
Nimmo said he called Mets trainer Joe Golia, who came by the room to check on him and then took him to the hospital.
“I’ve never fainted,” Nimmo said. “There’s never been a moment in my life that I, like, cannot get back. It’s a weird feeling.”
Doctors told Nimmo he might have experienced a temporary loss of blood flow to his brain due to the muscle cramp likely causing his heart rate to spike. Anxiety from not feeling well could have also played a role.
“It could happen one time in your life and you could never have to deal with it again,” Nimmo said. “I asked them, ‘Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening again?’ And they said, ‘No.’ Sometimes, a perfect storm happens. What I understood is … when the blood pressure drops, your brain just loses the blood for, like, one second. And you’re out.
“It probably wasn’t very long that I was out. But long enough to fall and do a little bit of damage.”
Nimmo is batting .247 with 13 homers and a team-leading 50 RBIs in 77 games. On Sunday, he hit his 100th career homer while going 3-for-4 with a walk, three RBIs and two runs during a 10-5, 11-inning loss to the Houston Astros.
Jeff McNeil started in left field on Monday.
–Field Level Media
