The Mets just finished up agreeing to deals with all nine of their arbitration-eligible players this offseason, but one of those nine players should be heavily considered for a larger extension.

That player should be Michael Conforto, who is now slated to make $8 million in 2020 and will go to arbitration one more time next offseason before becoming a free agent after the 2021 season.

Conforto, 26, is coming off a very strong season in which he hit .257/.363/.494 with 33 home runs and 92 RBI to give himself a superb 126 wRC+.

Defensively, he’s become very solid in right field as he had 1 DRS and a 0.6 UZR in 1,012 1/3 innings at the position in 2019. In total, the left-handed hitter had a 3.7 fWAR on the season.

With team control coming to a close, the Mets really need to start considering whether or not Conforto has a long-term future in Flushing or not.

Based on his production last season, he absolutely should be, considering the team doesn’t really have an in-house replacement for him long-term.

However, negotiating contract extensions with super-agent Scott Boras, who represents Conforto, has proven to be difficult for many teams with Boras having a preference of taking his star players to the free agency.

If the Mets look to sign him long-term and before he hits the free agent market after the 2021 season, they would likely have to be willing to give him a nine-figure deal.

That’s likely along the lines of the contract that Conforto could expect if he hit the free agent market today given his age and resume in his career thus far.

A deal along the lines of the five-year, $105 million contract extension that Ryan Braun signed in 2011 with the Milwaukee Brewers would likely be eclipsed in this scenario with Conforto only two years away from being a free agent as compared to Braun at the time who was five seasons away from it as a 27-year-old.

While the Mets could theoretically wait to sign Conforto to a long-term deal, the incentive for him to sign an extension diminishes every day as he inches closer and closer to the open market where all 30 MLB teams will have a chance to sign him and give him offers.

With All-Stars Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil still being pre-arbitration eligible players, the time to strike is now with the team having substantial financial flexibility as soon as next offseason.

Conforto has made it publicly known he’d be willing to negotiate a long-term deal to stay in Flushing so the ball is in the Mets’ court now.