David Stearns opened Monday’s Zoom call with a few minutes of effusive praise for Brandon Nimmo, previously known as the longest-tenured, widely admired and immensely popular leftfielder for the New York Mets.

It was basically Nimmo’s Flushing eulogy, a goodbye to the 2011 first-round draft pick who famously said, upon signing his eight-year, $162 million deal, that he’d never have to take off his blue-and-orange jersey ever again.

The choice was his, after all. That’s the point of having no-trade protection built into a contract, and as someone who was around for most of Nimmo’s days, I can confidently say he rarely, if ever, showed up for work at Citi Field without a smile.

That’s not an easy feat when you’re playing for the super-scrutinized Mets. Plenty of people have passed through

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