New York Mets send Brandon Nimmo, Gavin Cecchini to minors; could be headed to Las Vegas 51s

The 51s’ roster is starting to come into focus.

The Mets trimmed down Tuesday, assigning 13 players to minor league camp, which essentially sealed the immediate future for many of those prospects who appear to be headed to Las Vegas to begin the season with the 51s.

Outfielder Brandon Nimmo and shortstop Gavin Cecchini, first round draft picks in 2011 and 2012, should be among some of the higher-profile prospects starting the season in Las Vegas.

Nimmo, the team’s No. 5 prospect per Baseball America, is working his way back from a partially torn tendon in his left foot.

He split most of his time last season between Double-A Binghamton and the 51s, where he hit .264 batting average/.393 on-base percentage/.418 slugging percentage in 32 games.

Cecchini, the Mets’ No. 4 prospect, played at at Double-A Binghamton where he was .317/377/.422 in 109 games.

With the Mets trading for Neil Walker in December, Dilson Herrera will likely join Cecchini in the infield in Las Vegas as the team’s second baseman.

Herrera hit .327 with 11 home runs in 81 games with the 51s but just .211 with the big league club.

Along with those three, Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo, Gabriel Ynoa, Jeff Walters, Josh Smoker, Duane Below, Stolmy Pimentel, Dominic Smith, Marc Krauss and Travis Taijeron were also sent to minor league camp.

Except for Smith, who didn’t play above A-plus leagues last season, there’s a chance that every other player assigned to minor league camp Tuesday could start the season in Las Vegas.

The Mets made another roster move Wednesday, releasing infielder Ruben Tejada.

With Asdrubal Cabrera potentially beginning the season on the disabled list, it seems likely that Matt Reynolds, an infield prospect who spent time in Las Vegas in each of the past two seasons, would begin the season in New York.

Betsy Helfand can be reached at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand