The New York Mets have an amazing offensive core, with Jeff McNeil, Pete Alonso, Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Dominic Smith, Brandon Nimmo, JD Davis, James McCann, and Michael Conforto.
Conforto, who had the best season of his life in 2020, has one season left of arbitration, which is 2021. After that, he is scheduled to hit the free agent market, and the Mets certainly want to avoid that last scenario.
His .322 ./412/.515 line and the 157 wRC+ he put in 54 games made him not only one of the most productive Mets in 2020, but also one of the best offensive performers in the National League. Conforto, who is 27 years old, is the kind of talent you want to lock up for the future.
He has certainly earned his payday, and if the Mets don’t lock him up to a long-term contract, another team will, looking to benefit from his left-handed swing.
Mets’ Alderson provided an update
Speaking with SNY’s Gary Apple on Wednesday’s Mets Hot Stove, the club president Sandy Alderson gave an update on the state of negotiations with Conforto.
“Well, there have not been talks yet,” Alderson said. “We’ve been, I guess, preoccupied. With all due respect to Michael and Scott Boras, we’ve been occupied with some other things but I’m sure that we will have those conversations.
“I expect that we’ll have some serious conversations. I have no idea where it will go. You know, Scott has a reputation. I think Michael likes to play in New York. He’s been a great player ever since we brought him up. And I hope he stays with us. But those talks are yet to come.”
Conforto has stated in the past that he would be happy to stay in New York and play for the Mets for the foreseeable future, so that’s a good starting point.