Brandon Nimmo stepped back onto New York soil Tuesday, but for the first time, it wasn't as a Met. The former Queens fan favorite was across town in the Bronx for a series against the Yankees, yet the questions still circled back to his old team. And Nimmo, ever the professional, had nothing but good vibes for the franchise he called home for nearly a decade.

"I want them to do well," Nimmo said. "I've played here before when things aren't going well, and it's not fun. I wish the best for them, but also I'm trying to take care of things here and make sure we're trying to play good baseball here."

Nimmo's move to Texas came as part of a blockbuster offseason trade that sent Marcus Semien to the Mets. The deal was a shocker, considering Nimmo was just three years into an eight-year, $162 million contract and had to waive a no-trade clause to make it happen. But the veteran outfielder insists it was strictly business, not personal.

Before signing off on the trade, Nimmo did his homework. He reached out to a wide circle of confidants, including Mets legend Pete Alonso, who at the time hadn't heard from the team about his own future. "When Pete said they hadn't even reached out to him, there was definitely a lot of uncertainty as to which direction they were going," Nimmo recalled. "But ultimately, I had to make other phone calls and talk to other people and deliberate over it for many more days. So, it wasn't just his conversation that went into it. I talked to dozens of people. It was just a piece of the puzzle that helped in the decision-making process."

Nimmo's affection for his former teammates is clear, especially for Alonso, the Mets' all-time home run king. "I obviously would have loved to have seen Pete retire in a Mets uniform," Nimmo said. "He's the Mets' home run king and has all these titles that go along with it. I think that would have been awesome, but it wasn't in the cards for what they felt like were the best baseball decisions."

For fans who still rock their Nimmo jerseys, take heart: the outfielder's loyalty to the orange and blue runs deep. He believes the trade was a baseball decision, plain and simple—and he's ready to prove his worth in Arlington while quietly rooting for his old squad from afar.