Brandon Nimmo reveals why Mets brought him back with a huge contract

MIAMI — Brandon Nimmo didn’t waste a moment to show the Mets that keeping him through the winter was money well spent.

In his first game since returning to the club on an eight-year contract worth $162 million, Nimmo was the offensive star of the Mets’ 5-3 opening-day win over the Marlins on Thursday.

Nimmo delivered a two-run double on the go-ahead runs in the seventh inning after pulling a walk in the sixth and hitting the Mets’ second run in the game on Francisco Lindor’s sacrificial fly.

Nimmo drove a sacrificial fly in the third inning after Daniel Vogelbach’s leadoff walk against Sandy Alcantara in the Mets’ first heat of the season.

“It was exciting for me to be back out there and it felt like a home game,” Nimmo said, referring to the large contingent of Mets fans in attendance. “There was a lot of ‘Let’s go Mets’ chanting. … It was really great to be back out there and getting in front of the fans.”

Earlier in the day, the team announced that co-ace Justin Verlander would start the season on the injured list with a minor strain in the Teres Major, a muscle in the armpit.

Nimmo said he tried to block the news as he prepared for the opener.

“I tried not to think about it because Justin is a veteran and he’ll know what he can and can’t pull through,” said Nimmo. “Make him feel ready to go and it’s just another obstacle for us to overcome. We’ve already been treated [Edwin] Diaz, and I’m sure it won’t be the last, so we just have to try to keep hitting and keep our guys on the field as good and healthy as we can.

Late in spring practice, Nimmo was a question mark on opening day after spraining his right knee/ankle and sliding into second base.

But Nimmo bounced back quickly, making sure the Mets had their leading hitter and midfielder for Game 1.