Michael Conforto would ‘love’ to stay with the New York Mets

The New York Mets have quietly assembled a feared lineup. They have a pretty good combination of young stars (Dominic Smith, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo and company) and established veterans, like Robinson Cano. Michael Conforto, who is somewhere in between if we evaluate age and MLB experience, may be the key for the unit’s long-term success.

The lefty-hitting outfielder will be a free agent after the 2021 season, which makes him eligible for a contract extension that could surpass $100 million in total value given how successful he’s been this year. After all, he has slashed .322/.412/.515 with a .401 wOBA and a 157 wRC+.

The current administration, led by the Wilpons, have only had “a really, really brief and preliminary chat this spring” regarding an extension despite the Mets’ star repeated statements about his desire to stay.

But with Steve Cohen set to take over the New York Mets in the short-term, things could change. The team could make a concerted effort to secure the services of one of the most talented sluggers in the National League.

For his part, Conforto wouldn’t go into details of his future in his latest chat with MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, but he said again that staying would be his priority.

What will the Mets do?

“I don’t know what the new ownership is going to come in and do,” Conforto said. “I’m just a baseball player, so I’ll leave those things to my agent, and to the people that know more about that stuff.”

When asked if he still wants to stay, Conforto replied: “Of course. I love it here. This is everything I know.”

“I’m proud of some of the things that I’ve been able to do this year for sure,” Conforto said. “I’m looking forward to building on some of the individual successes that I’ve had this year, but also, I play this game to win, and I know all those guys in there do, too. That’s the most important thing for us.”

But, for now, the Mets’ outfielder doesn’t have much clarity about what his next step will be.

“I can’t really look beyond today, tomorrow, the games we have left this year,” Conforto said. “Of course I’m aware of what’s going on and new ownership coming in, and you definitely think about what kind of things are going to change and what this team’s going to look like when we come back. But for right now, until I have a better understanding of what that’s going to look like, I’m just focused on playing the game today and making sure I do what I can to help the team win today.”