Brandon Nimmo eyes opening day in wake of encouraging injury report

PORT ST. LUCIE — Brandon Nimmo is looking toward Opening Day.

A day after imaging revealed Nimmo has a low-grade sprain to his right knee and ankle, the Mets outfielder said Sunday he fully expects to be ready for the Opening Day start on March 30.

“In my heart of hearts, I do think so,” Nimmo said at his locker, wearing a black wrap that extended the length of his leg. “Right now, I definitely think that I’ll be ready for Opening Day.”

Nimmo sustained the injury Friday, sliding into second base and was helped from the field by manager Buck Showalter and a trainer.

Nimmo said his spike caught in the dirt as he was sliding. The initial concern was for Nimmo’s knee, but the team later announced he had discomfort in the ankle. But as the night progressed, Nimmo said his knee pain intensified.

“So when I got the MRI, I was actually more relieved that it wasn’t more serious and we’re looking at no new structural damage, just kind of sprains in there, and to me, that was the best news we could have gotten,” Nimmo said. “A lot of things could have gone wrong there so I really feel fortunate that we dodged a bullet there.”

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Max Scherzer’s next start is scheduled for Friday in St. Petersburg against the Rays, which would align him for Opening Day in Miami — with an extra day of rest.

The Post reported last week that the Mets’ plan is to start Scherzer on Opening Day and Justin Verlander for the home opener on April 6 (after pitching in Miami during the opening weekend).

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DJ Stewart talked his way into remaining in Sunday’s game for a final at-bat after getting a triple, single and double in his first three plate appearances of the day.

The outfielder was rewarded, hitting a line-drive homer in the seventh inning to complete the cycle.

Stewart, who spent the last five seasons with the Orioles — he played for Showalter briefly in 2018 — is expected to begin the season at Triple-A Syracuse as outfield depth.

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Al Leiter arrived in camp to begin his stint as a guest instructor. John Franco is expected at Clover Park on Monday.