Returning Brandon Nimmo bugaboo only adding to long list of Mets problems

The list of Mets problems is CVS-receipt long. There is four-fifths of a rotation that cannot be trusted; a correspondingly tired bullpen; problems up and down a lineup that have been expected to go away and have not gone away.

There are bigger issues than Brandon Nimmo’s bat, but Brandon Nimmo’s bat has not helped recently.

In a Mets lineup that has flailed, no one has had bigger issues making contact than Nimmo. In 23 games since July 12, Nimmo has struck out 34 times — his 33.3 percent rate the seventh highest in baseball in the span entering Monday — during a kind of funk that Nimmo has dealt with in the past.

He struck out 37 times in a 23-game span from May 19 to June 15 last year. A hitter who has evolved to look for more power in a way that will sacrifice some contact has proven streaky.

For six straight games, all losses, Nimmo has not recorded a hit. The outfielder is 0-for-19 with six walks and 12 punch-outs in the stretch.

“It’s rough right now, but I can’t say it’s new,” Nimmo said after Sunday’s loss in Milwaukee. “It happens every year and it’s part of baseball, unfortunately.

“I wish I could find out just what it is so that I could stay away from it every year, but I look around the league and it happens to everybody, pretty much.”

It has happened to the entire Mets lineup collectively. Since June 13, a day that began with the Mets 21 games over .500 and appears to have been a turning point, the Mets entered play tied for the least runs scored in the majors.

Juan Soto has hit (.901 OPS in the stretch) but not enough in the clutch (.214 with a .672 OPS with runners on base in the span). No other regular is above a .770 OPS since June 13, with the biggest struggles belonging to Mark Vientos (.572 OPS) and Francisco Lindor (.607 OPS).

Nimmo pointed to Lindor’s slump as proof that it happens to everyone. Teams always hope it won’t happen to everyone at one time.

“When you sign up to play this game, you kind of sign up for some heartbreak for some time,” Nimmo said. “But that doesn’t mean that me being as hot as a firecracker doesn’t show up in the future.”