35 Years of Misery & Counting
No wonder no team wanted to sign Conforto this past offseason. Anyone could guess if he’ll stick with Scott Boras as his agent after the ass-backwards advice he gave Conforto when it came to signing deals that were on the table, much less what kind of deal Conforto can get once he’s ready to come back.
Last December, more than two dozen present and former Mets players filed into the Phoenician in Scottsdale, Ariz., to celebrate their teammate Michael Conforto’s wedding. The party, they said, was a memorable one. Since that time, most Mets have shied away from contact with Conforto, understanding the sensitivity of his situation as baseball’s most prominent remaining free agent. He is the only unsigned free agent that Fangraphs projects for more than a single Win Above Replacement in 2022.
“Obviously a confusing time [for him], probably a frustrating time,” said Conforto’s longtime teammate, Brandon Nimmo. “I’m just wishing him the best.”
Conforto only has himself to blame for remaining unsigned. In 2021 he turned down a longterm deal with the Mets, had a subpar 2021 season and still turned down a QO by the Mets because he expected that some dumb GM would sign him to a $100M-plus deal this offseason. I say at best he gets a 2-to-3 year deal no more than $50M at this point.
Conforto already turned down a $100M deal from the Mets last year and now there’s all this talk about re-signing him to a 1-year deal because he’s still out there on the free agent market and there’s only 3 weeks left until the regular season starts. But screw that. While Conforto always gives 100 percent in the field and is an above-average right-fielder, he’s also way too streaky a player who had awful season last year. So while I understand the sentiment many Mets fans feel about bringing Conforto back home, if Brandon Nimmo can finally stay healthy and we get a big year from Dom Smith, with the new additions of Marte and Hanra, I think that we’ll be fine in the outfield.
Additional players almost certainly will be added to the Mets roster once the lockout concludes, and manager Buck Showalter acknowledged Friday that another outfielder could be a consideration.
The Mets already signed free agents Starling Marte and Mark Canha this offseason to join Brandon Nimmo in the outfield, but beyond that there is haziness: Dominic Smith and Jeff McNeil can play the outfield, but are also trade candidates.
Boras is Conforto’s agent so you expect him to spout hyperbole like this. But coming off a season where he only hit .232 with 14 HR’s and 55 RBI’s in 406 at-bats, does Conforto really warrant the kind of longterm deal he’s seeking? Probably not. Still, I’ve always liked Conforto and want to see him back. He’s a streaky hitter and has battled one too many DL stints for a guy his age. But he’s a home grown Met, an above-average right-fielder, was an All-Star in 2017, hit 2 HR’s in a game during the 2015 World Series, never gets into any trouble on or off the field, his teammates seem to love him and he can carry the team for like a month when he gets hot at the plate. But baseball being a business and Conforto about to hit his prime as a player, of course he’s going to want to get as much money that he can while he can. And that’s why he declined the Mets qualifying offer and sadly, won’t be back.
Syndergaard has a so-so outing, the bullpen didn’t help matters and Conforto and Alonso were nowhere to be found. With 3 weeks left, our wild-card hopes continue to dimmer.
Hey, beating up on losing teams is what you’re supposed to do. Now with the Nationals coming in and 10 or our next 11 series against winning teams, the real fun starts.
The Dodgers are so good that taking a game out of L.A. is good enough for me. I just didn’t want the Mets to get swept. By the way Steven Matz isn’t getting near enough credit for how well he’s pitched so far this year. Take away that one awful start in Philly and the guy’s been an ace.
I know that he came back this year from a major injury. But considering that he was an All-Star last year and is now in his 4th season in the big leagues, a .232/14HR/39RBI line just isn’t cutting it at all. Yet, Conforto continues to get the benefit of the doubt from the press along with a handful of excuses for why he’s struggled all season long. Funny that.
