Mets Monday Morning GM: The Michael Conforto extension wait

How urgent is it for the New York Mets to extend Michael Conforto?

Long before Steve Cohen officially took over as the owner, New York Mets fans have been eager to see the club lock him Michael Conforto for a few years with an extension. The team’s right fielder had a fantastic 2020 season and is now one year away from free agency.

An extension with Conforto remains one of the goals for the Mets this offseason. Along with rebuilding the roster through free agency and trades, it’s one of the priorities the front office should look to achieve.

By not locking Conforto up with an extension, the Mets risk potentially losing him next winter. Luckily, if Conforto is someone the Mets want to keep around for a few more years, the extension doesn’t ever have to actually happen.

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A lifetime .259/.359/.484 hitter with zero votes for the MVP, Conforto is far from a star. He has one All-Star selection under his belt and a few too many wasted opportunities.

Not all were his fault. In 2017, Conforto was well on his way to having a career-year. Injuries limited him to just 109 games. A similar thing happened this past season with Conforto setting personal highs in batting average and OBP. Unfortunately, MLB limited the schedule to just 60 games. Conforto played in 54 of them.

With all of these negative thoughts on Conforto, you might think I’m ready to let him walk into free agency. It couldn’t be further from the truth. Conforto, while not a star player, brings enough to the Mets lineup for the team to do whatever they can to ensure he sticks around.

I don’t think Conforto is going to routinely hit .322 again as he did in 2020. Realistically, we can expect him to hit around the .259 he has for his career. This isn’t so bad when he’s reaching base often and swatting home runs.

Although he’s no Pete Alonso with the home run ball, Conforto has an average of 30 home runs per 162 games. This isn’t something to overlook. The power he gives the club from the left side of the plate is tremendous. Combine it with an ability to reach base often and we have a core member of the franchise.

There’s little doubt Conforto deserves an extension. However, his future with New York’s blue and orange squad may continue in a different way.

Cohen has the ability to outbid any owner in baseball. Even if the extension never comes and Conforto tests the free agent waters, there’s a good chance he sticks with this team for the rest of his career.

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An extension with Conforto can wait because it doesn’t actually need to happen. If the Mets want him, they’ll get him one way or another by some means.