Back from Mets, Brandon Nimmo works in center

During Brandon Nimmo’s 23-day trip to the majors, he seemingly had a smile plastered to his face.

Nimmo’s initial call-up by the New York Mets gave him plenty of lifelong memories — like his first hit and his first home run, for example.

It also showed him what he needs to improve upon to return. Nimmo appeared in 16 games and batted .235 (12-for-51) with one homer and four RBIs.

“The first time you go to the big leagues — Brandon’s relatively young — to go there and see what that atmosphere is like, should give you incentive to get back there, to do the things you have to work on and that’s the type of kid Brandon is,” manager Wally Backman said. “He came down here with as good of attitude as you could ask.”

For Nimmo, that primarily means working in center field. Minor league outfield coordinator Benny Distefano has been in Las Vegas working with Nimmo, who Backman said would see at least four days a week in center. He’ll also see time at the corner outfield positions, which is where he played while with the Mets from June 25 to July 17.

“It’s better to be versatile and in order to do that, you need to get a day in left field, a day in right field and so we’ll see how the rest of the season goes with that,” Nimmo said. “I’d like to see a lot of (time in) center field.”

Nimmo has been working on tracking balls, which was a problem earlier in the year. Backman said Nimmo has shown progress since the start of the season, but it remains an area of emphasis.

He’s also been working on well as staying low and not popping up right away.

“Going up kind of let me know ‘Hey, here’s some things I can go back and work,’” Nimmo said. “Then you just go back and you just try to work on them and be ready for the next time your name’s called.”

Shoulder shelves Gilmartin

Sean Gilmartin will miss his scheduled start Monday as he deals with shoulder soreness.

Backman said Gilmartin’s shoulder has bothered him for the past couple weeks.

“Our doctor here in Vegas is seeing him and then he’ll make a recommendation and because he’s a 40-man (roster) guy, a lot of times the 40-man guys have to go to New York to see the doctor,” Backman said.

Ricky Knapp will take Gilmartin’s start Monday against Reno. Knapp is 9-4 with a 2.14 ERA at Class-A Advanced St Lucie. He made one spot start for Double-A Binghamton and was a winner, allowing one run in seven innings.

Trade deadline approaches

With the trade deadline Aug. 1, the possibility is high someone from the 51s could be included in a deal as the Mets try to improve their roster.

“There’s always speculation,” Backman said. “The guys read everything.”

With the exception of Rafael Montero, recently demoted, everyone from the 40-man roster not with the Mets is in Las Vegas, and trade rumors could be a distraction until next Mondays deadline.

“Somebody’s going to be involved,” Backman said. “It could be lower-level guys but depending on what team it is, if it’s a lower-tiered team that needs position players, needs help immediately to try to survive, the chances of somebody from here going is probably a bigger percentage than anywhere else.”

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