Siemian was surprised by the trade to the Mets but excited to play in New York

NEW YORK — A month ago, Marcus Sieman was a father of four and three years away from a lucrative contract in Texas.

Needless to say, there have been some big changes around the house recently.

Three weeks after he and his wife, Tara, welcomed their fifth child, Siemian 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 moved to a new city and his fifth major league team — the first in the National League.

“It was amazing. Just realizing, hey, I signed a long-term deal here four years ago,” Siemian said Tuesday via Zoom. “But again, I’m very aware 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 the Texas forward, who has three seasons at 35 and $72 million remaining on a $175 million, seven-year contract he signed with the Rangers in December 2021.

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

Siemian said he was training last Friday when he got a call from agent Scott Boras telling him a deal might be imminent. But as the sides waited to hear whether Nimmo would waive the no-trade provision in the $162 million, eight-year contract he signed with New York after the 2022 season, Siemian was asked to stay quiet for a while.

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

“I asked him a lot more about family stuff than just baseball stuff, because I know he’s got four kids, and there’s just some things he’s got away with, about how we’re going to do things going forward,” Siemian said.

“As far as baseball goes, I couldn’t be more excited to play in a bigger market, to play in front of a fanbase that brings energy every night, because it brings out the best in me.”

Siemian 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 on the road.

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

“I just sat back and watched and I loved the passion that the Mets players were playing with,” Siemian said. “I liked the young pitching staff that they were putting in there and the things that those guys had. And I’m just thinking about that series and envisioning myself in that direction now, and it makes me really excited.”

Siemian won his second Gold Glove this season despite missing the last 5 1/2 weeks after spraining his foot on a pitch Aug. 20. It was just the second time he was on the injured list in 13 major league seasons. He has 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 bowls every single ball,” he said. “I take 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 what I want to do.”

Siemian, 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 to their lone World Series title.

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

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

He knows it won’t be an easy task to step 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 a clubhouse presence Brandon was. I understand how much of a fan favorite Brandon was, and I feel for Mets fans when you lose a player who was there and who was such a fixture in that lineup and in the community and a great personality and a good guy,” Siemian said.

“I want to get to know the fans, get to know the community, let my game do the talking. And I think I’ll definitely be in that locker room that people can hug. That’s always my goal. … Hopefully Brandon, the things that he did, hopefully I can accomplish and do as well.”