Mets Michael Conforto Contract Condrom comes under it

Two ways will appear before Michael Conforto begins the year of running:

• Steve Cohen today considers him an elite free agent and guarantees him $ 200 million – perhaps too much – $ 200 million.

or

• Conforto has felt a powerful connection to the team that drafted him and Legacy in New York and to an extent with the Mets to force his representative Scott Borus to get the best deal possible But does it in the short term. .

The Mets are expected to explore a long-term extension this spring for the franchise Lindor and Conforto, with both free agency appointments following this season. However, keep in mind that the Wilpon / Brody van Vegenen regime did with Conforto last spring and never reached the offer stage with a player who preferred to play the first season.

So will something change this time?

Borus, despite the reputation otherwise, has worked on long-term extensions before allowing his clients access to free agency. Jared Weaver, Elvis Andrus, Jose Altuve, Stefan Strasberg and Gender Bogerts are among those who have done so, considering Boras as their representative. Bogarts and Strasbourg are relevant because their extensions came in the years of their walk, and once players get closer to free agency they are usually a lot more difficult to tie. Bogarts signed a five-year, $ 120 million treaty in early April 2019, and Strasbourg secured a seven-year, $ 175 million package in May 2016.

The strong belief was that the customers were very relaxed where they were and inspired Boras to work harder, but not to expand.

Conforto has mentioned several times that Boras works for him, not vice versa, and Borus reiterated in a call Wednesday that he complied with his customers’ wishes.

So what does Conforto want?

He has said that he loves playing for the Mets, but not so much that he also requests the last spring when he was ready to make one. In addition, Conforto is a player representative at the time of hostilities between management and the union – which was extended this week with announcements from former Mariners CEO Kevin Mather now about service-time manipulation. Someone working closely with the union in this environment, and with Boras as an agent, is unlikely to accept a team-friendly agreement.

If that’s the case, will Cohen now stretch for Conforto, when Lindor will probably take $ 300 million-plus and have priority?

Like the Conforto player, the quiet leader, the excuse-free mill. But do they believe that the short season is not a 2020 elite number or a very good number of previous years? Will they pay $ 200 million-plus to the man who is not the face of the franchise?

The Mets could defend themselves by chasing George Springer with more decisiveness and cash. Springer is a center fielder who has the bat to move comfortably to a corner outside when needed. Springer signed with Blue Jay for six years for $ 150 million. His OPS-plus is 135 over the last four years; Conforto’s 134. Springer, however, can play center and has a powerful postmen résumé.

But Conforto is two years younger. He is eligible to become a free agent after his age-28 season. So simply multiplying Springer’s annual value ($ 25 million) for an eight-year package to $ 200 million for two more years – with outsiders in a deal like Bogarts and Strasbourg – done it? I think only if Conforto wants this to be done.

Conforto had its best season in 2020, with a 60-game schedule. He can bet on his own that he is going to do the same with 162 games and in the next match the world will be a complete pandemic and there will be a new collective agreement in the game. This equation would almost certainly provide an environment north of $ 200 million for Boras – so why compromise so closely with free agency?

Borus generally wants the market to determine the compensation of its best free agents, supports long contracts that move their players to at least the mid-30s and maximizes overall payouts. He compared Connery to Bernie Williams for his proven ability to play in New York – and the Yankees captained after the 1998 season and paid far more than what Williams was willing to offer. Were (rival Red Sox were to sign him). Borus also cited Conforto’s leadership and ability to hit the aristocratic fastball, which Borus called the NL East’s “The Velocity Division”.

“Michael is a very proven and established big-market, franchise player on many fronts,” Borus said.

However, is he someone who feels a powerful bridge to stay a mate? If not, making a deal makes this spring quite difficult.