With the free agent market slowdown the past few offseasons, we have seen players increasingly be amenable to contract extensions. The Yankees have already locked up Luis Severino and Aaron Hicks, and they are working on deals with Didi Gregorius and Dellin Betances. The Phillies have locked up Aaron Nola while the Cardinals have locked up Miles Mikolas. According to reports, the Nationals are pursuing an extension with Anthony Rendon.
On the Mets front, Jacob deGrom has given the Mets an Opening Day deadline to agree to a contract extension. In addition to deGrom, Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard, and Michael Conforto have indicated they would be willing to negotiate a contract extension to say in Queens.
For a number of reasons, deGrom is on the front burner on the moment. Regardless of the outcome with deGrom talks, the Mets need to determine which player should receive their attention next. In the latest roundtable, our writers present their opinions on which player should be extended next:
Marissa Credle – Conforto
I think if the Mets could somehow lock up Michael Conforto then it should be him. He’s shown glimpses of him being the star that we all know he can become and his maturity to go along with that make you forget that he’s only 26. His mentality along with physical ability make him a great candidate to be the future leader of the team therefore I feel like if anyone outside deGrom, he should be the one the team should try and sign long term, even if it might be unrealistic
John Edwards – Wheeler
I think the priority right now, that is, before the end of spring training, is a Zack Wheeler extension. We saw this last season – there were murmurings of extension talk for deGrom after a so-so season and, given his contract situation, it made sense. An extension for deGrom before the start of last season would have represented significantly less financial commitment than an extension today might have, even with a year off the books, because of how deGrom broke out last season. I think we’re at the same point this spring with Wheeler as we were with deGrom last season, except it’s a lot more apparent that Wheeler is on the verge of breaking out, especially given his rousing and sustainable 2018 second-half. Wheeler’s price looks to be on the rise, and the Mets should buy low and buy low soon.
Mojo Hill – Syndergaard
I’d go with Syndergaard, and if not him, then Nimmo. Syndergaard is a special talent and still just 26 years old, so in my mind, you have to lock him up because the opportunity to extend such a dominant young pitcher with such great stuff is very rare. After him, I believe Nimmo is their best young position player, and is the future star leader and role model of this team. Both these guys are still young and have shown glimpses of stardom in the Majors, and are going to be key pieces on this team going forward that the Mets can build around.
Matt Mancuso – Syndergaard
With the Mets’ core currently going through the arbitration system, the time is now for the Mets to lock up one of their stars. Conforto, Nimmo, Rosario, and Wheeler all profile as examples of Mets player who’d they love to lock up for the future. That being said, I think Noah Syndergaard is the perfect player to extend. Ever since he’s debuted, he’s shown tantalizing potential with stuff that matches among the best hurlers in the game. In 2018, all five of his pitches rank among the top 20 in the game in velocity, while his career ERA is tied sixth among all-time Mets. As we’ve seen throughout his career, he delivers in the big games, he can withstand the New York media, and he should be able to provide ace-quality numbers for the next several years. Brodie Van Wagenen would be smart to make him a Met for life.
Andrew Percoco – A Starter
Many, but there are questions. Matz, Noah to start, Conforto and Nimmo, if Alonso is real deal after a season or two, but Amed Rosario is the big question. If he does very well this year, yes. If not, Mets might deal Amed and look to Andres Gimenez as the shortstop heir.
Jack Ramsey – Wheeler
Based purely on contracts alone, Zack Wheeler should be first in line for an extension. The righty has really turned his career around with a strong second half in 2018 and is poised for a great 2019. He is set to be a free agent this winter, so locking him up should be a priority for the Mets. I understand being hesitant, considering injury and one strong half of play, but if come the All-Star break Wheeler is still going strong, and extension should be offered to him right away to keep him off the market.
Tommy Rothman – Conforto
Michael Conforto is probably my pick, but we can’t ignore that he’s a Scott Boras client. If they can lock him up, they should do so as soon as possible, but I’m not sure if “possible” even exists. I’d also like to lock up Nimmo. I wouldn’t give either a crazy number (certainly not Nimmo), but if we can get either of them to sign a team-friendly deal it’d be a nice move. A much more important move, but again one that I think is unlikely, is locking up Syndergaard. If they can get him to sign a deal like Nola or Severino signed, great. But it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s only willing to sign a mega-deal.
Tim Ryder – Conforto
I’d have to go with Michael Conforto. Through my eyes, he’s a star in the making. I expect this year to be huge for him and if the Mets want to lock him up at a team-friendly number a la Aaron Hicks (though, it would likely cost more), sooner would be better.
Dilip Sridhar – Nimmo
I’ll go with Brandon Nimmo. I think Nimmo is the guy who would be most likely to sign a deal and he is a perennial .380 OBP bat. He’s a late bloomer and has the ability to be great as we saw from March-to-June or in the second half of the season. I would give him the Hicks contract right now.
John Sheridan – Lugo
The obvious answers are certainly any of the starters or one of the young outfielders, and the Mets would be well served pushing to lock any one of them up, especially with Wheeler a year away from free agency. That said, the Mets should be looking to push for a Seth Lugo extension.
The recent trend in baseball is to push for increased bullpen use. That increased bullpen use puts versatile relievers who can give you more than just one inning at a premium. It is why Andrew Miller was such a key part of the Indians bullpen, and it is why Josh Hader was such an important piece to the Brewers bullpen last year. Breaking things down, Lugo was the Mets version of Miller or Hader.
With Lugo, you have a pitcher who can spot start, pitch multiple innings, be a key set-up man, or close. He is exactly the type of reliever every team currently covets, and pitchers like him are becoming increasingly more valuable. With him hitting arbitration after this season, it may behoove the Mets to lock him up to a contract extension before Lugo starts to become really expensive.
Given Lugo already being 29 and his UCL issue, you may have a pitcher amenable to it, and you may be able to lock him up to a better deal than you would any other pitcher on this team. After you lock up Lugo to a deal, you can try to utilize that momentum towards locking up the other players on this roster.
For the most part, our writers have identified Syndergaard and Conforto as the two players the team should be focusing upon after the deGrom contract extension talks reach their conclusion. Do you agree with them, or do you believe the Mets should be focusing upon another player? We look forward to continuing this discussion in the comments section.
