Michael Conforto spoke to Mike Puma of the New York Post about a topic that has not come up oftentimes, which is the idea of him getting an extension with the club.
Believe it or not, Conforto is actually only under team control through the 2021 season, the same year that Noah Syndergaard will be a free agent, and with that comes the need to at least discuss what the plan might be going forward at some point in the near future.
“I think that is always on players’ minds, they want to have that security and I know I am going to be under their control for the next two years so it’s kind of something that during the season, it’s not something I really want to talk about,” Conforto said. “When we get into the offseason and kind of leading up to spring training, I guess those conversations will be had, but I love it here and I would love to continue to play here.”
According to Puma, the Mets would love to keep Conforto here long-term as well, as they view him as a “core player.” That being said, the team probably won’t extend everyone in their core long-term, and that could potentially be even more difficult with Conforto, who has the notoriously tough-to-negotiate-with super-agent, Scott Boras, representing him.
“Where else would you want to play other than New York?” Conforto said. “I leave that to Scott and Brodie [Van Wagenen] to work that out. All I can do is play as well as I can. I feel like I haven’t put a full season together where I can really say that I have reached my full potential to this point.”
If he hasn’t reached his full potential, the Mets should without question be looking to keep him here long-term. In 2019, the outfielder is having a great season slashing .258/.358/.489 with 29 homers and 89 RBI to give himself a 125 OPS+ and 3.0 bWAR.
Defensively, he’s pretty solid as well, registering two defensive runs saved and a 1.3 UZR in 880 2/3 innings in right field this season.
The former first-round pick is also on pace to play in 152 games this season, which would be the second year in a row he’s played in that many games, which is something the outfielder is very proud of.
“I feel I have been a core guy in this lineup, in this organization,” Conforto said. “I feel like aside from the surgery I have been pretty durable — a guy they can count on to go out there every single day to go out there and play through some soreness and small things here and there. I take pride in that. To be durable is very valuable.”
The Mets are currently paying him $4.025 million in his first year of arbitration, but with likely salary raises each of the next two seasons before he hits the open market, locking him up long-term to stabilize his salary and delay his free agency by a few years could make a lot of sense for both sides.
