Mets Received Additional Time To Extend Michael Conforto
Before the season, Michael Conforto said he did not want to have contract extension talks during the season. While some have intimated he relaxed that Opening Day deadline, Conforto did once say he wanted to resolve his contract status by Opening Day.
Right now, we know Francisco Lindor has a 10 year $341 million contract. What we don’t know is what impact that will have on the Mets willingness and ability to hand out extensions to their other important players. On that note, the Mets were simultaneously having extension discussions with Lindor and Conforto with Lindor obviously being the priority.
With Lindor, the Mets had a future Hall of Famer who they parted with some good young players and prospects to obtain. For Conforto, it’s different. He is the homegrown player who could be a future captain and break a number of Mets records. He is also the player who hit two home runs in a World Series game at Citi Field.
Being further away from that shoulder injury, and being further away from Terry Collins, Conforto has re-emerged as an All-Star caliber player. While his career has not been on par with Lindor’s Conforto does have Hall of Fame talent. This is a player with one of the sweetest swings you’ve seen in Mets history this side of Darryl Strawberry. He has also been a good outfielder.
How we all remember Conforto’s career is going to be dictated by what he does in his prime and beyond. With the Mets, he has a comfort level, and now, he has a front office which is going to give him to the tools to really succeed. He can now get even more out of his talent with the data and training the Mets can now put in place. That many not only make his peak higher, but it may also lengthen his career.
Of course, the Mets have to entice him to stay in terms of dollars. While the narrative on Scott Boras is overstated, he has been reluctant to have his players sign extensions. Still, we have seen it with superstars like Greg Maddux, Stephen Strasburg, and Jose Altuve. The key is that Boras wants a real deal for his clients and not the hometown discount.
Seeing Conforto, he shouldn’t be pressured into the hometown discount. That goes double when they gave Lindor the third highest contract in the game. Conforto is a Met through and through, and he deserves to be treated as such.
The Mets were gifted an extra couple of days to focus in on Conforto and get a deal done. With Boras and the extremely weak outfield free agent class, that is going to be very difficult. However, as we saw with Lindor, all it takes is to make the offer to make Conforto feel like the wanted star he truly is. The Mets now have 48 more hours to get it done.