Mets don’t expect Michael Conforto to be back until May

The Mets lone All-Star in 2017 will likely miss the first month of the regular season.

Michael Conforto will not only not be ready for Opening Day this upcoming, but he’s likely going to miss the first few weeks of it, according to general manager Sandy Alderson. Speaking at Jay Bruce‘s re-introductory press conference, Alderson said the team doesn’t expect Conforto back until May 1 at the earliest.

Alderson says he doesn't expect Conforto until May 1.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) January 17, 2018

Conforto has been rehabbing his left shoulder after he dislocated it in late August. Originally, we weren’t exactly sure how long Conforto would be out, but after he decided to undergo surgery to repair the injury, it was pretty obvious he’d be out for a considerable amount of time.

This new target date was definitely later than some of us had hoped, however. I figured he wouldn’t be ready to go in March, but I know I was hoping maybe it would be just a couple of weeks after that we’d see his debut.

Instead, it looks like Conforto will be sidelined for a good chunk of time. If you’re as skeptical as I am about the Mets and their medical time tables, odds are you fear a later date is even more likely. Yeah, they’re saying May 1 now, but if it ends up being mid-May or late May, would anyone really be surprised?

Conforto’s injury underscores the importance of the Bruce signing too. It also highlights why the Mets might be hesitant to give up a guy like Brandon Nimmo in a trade at this point. This team still has Yoenis Cespedes and Juan Lagares, but both haven’t been able to stay healthy for long.

It’ll be interesting to see if Sandy and co end up going after a guy like Eduardo Nunez that can play multiple positions in the infield and can also play the outfield. He’s a free agent, and thus wouldn’t cost giving up any players like you’d have to for Josh Harrison, for example.

Next: Jacob deGrom wants the Cy Young in 2018

Whichever way they end up going, the Mets offseason will definitely be impacted by the Conforto injury. Let’s hope management still has some moves up their sleeves.