New York Mets GM Sandy Alderson was a guest on WOR 710 last night, and he weighed in on a variety of topics with radio host Pete McCarthy.
One of those topics was the Mets young outfielder Michael Conforto who struggled during his sophomore season. During the interview, Alderson said that he sees Conforto as an everyday player in 2017 that could sit only against tough lefties.
He also mentioned that Conforto is expected to have a bigger role than he had in 2016 whether or not Yoenis Cespedes returns to the Mets. Alderson stated that inconsistent playing time for Conforto could have been part of the reason for his bad season.
Conforto, 23, hit just .220/.310/.414 with 21 doubles, 12 home runs and 41 runs knocked in during the this past season. The disappointing season came on the heels of a great start to his major league career in 2015 when he slashed .270/.335/.506 in 56 games.
In order to to get Conforto into the lineup more last season he played center field for the first time in his professional career. He ended up playing six games in center for the Mets and another six with the Las Vegas 51s. He also played 15 games combined between the majors and Triple-A in right field after having no experience there coming into the season.
The Mets currently have left-handed hitting outfielders Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce under contract for the 2017. Granderson did play 36 games in center in 2016, the most since he did it full-time for the New York Yankees back in 2012. Bruce has played 1210 of his career 1237 games in right field and seems like a sure bet to get dealt if Cespedes returns to the Mets.
