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Mets Rumors

Jacob deGrom Undergoing MRI After Experiencing Shoulder Tightness

By Steve Adams | April 1, 2022 at 7:28am CDT

The Mets have officially scratched ace Jacob deGrom from today’s scheduled Grapefruit League appearance, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. He’ll instead undergo an MRI after experiencing tightness in his right shoulder while playing catch yesterday. While there’s no indication yet that deGrom is dealing with a major injury or expected to miss significant time, the mere fact that he’s been scratched in favor of imaging is an obvious source of concern.

Expected to pair with newly signed Max Scherzer to form one of the great one-two punches, the 33-year-old deGrom has already cemented himself as one of the most talented pitchers of this generation. If he does miss time with this shoulder ailment, however, it’ll mark a second straight season with an absence due to arm-related injuries.

In 2021, deGrom appeared well on his way to a third Cy Young in four years, pitching to an inhuman 1.08 ERA with a 45.1% strikeout rate against just a 3.4% walk rate through his first 92 innings. He hit the injured list with a forearm strain in early July, however. The injury wasn’t initially believed to be season-ending in nature, but after a series of setbacks and delays in his rehab work, the Mets eventually shut deGrom down for the season in late September.

For the time being, the Mets will send non-roster righty Felix Pena to the hill to make today’s spring start. Manager Buck Showalter is currently speaking with reporters on the matter and indicated that deGrom’s MRI will be conducted around 9:30am ET (Twitter link via Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News). No determination on deGrom’s availability for Opening Day will be made until that imaging is performed. DeGrom felt the tightness in his shoulder on the final few throws of a long-toss session yesterday, Showalter added.

The Mets are relying on deGrom, Scherzer, trade acquisition Chris Bassitt, Taijuan Walker and Carlos Carrasco to handle the bulk of rotation work this season, though they have several solid depth options beyond that quintet. Tylor Megill, David Peterson and Jordan Yamamoto are all on the 40-man roster already, while veteran southpaw Mike Montgomery gives them another experienced option who’s in camp as a non-roster invitee.

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New York Mets Newsstand Jacob deGrom

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Mets Claim Yoan Lopez Off Waivers From Marlins

By Anthony Franco | March 29, 2022 at 5:07pm CDT

The Mets have claimed reliever Yoan López off waivers from the Marlins, according to announcements from both teams. To clear space on the 40-man roster, New York placed left-hander Joey Lucchesi on the 60-day injured list.

López continues to bounce around the league — and more specifically, the NL East — via waivers. Designated for assignment by the Braves early in the offseason, he was claimed by the Phillies just before the lockout. Since the work stoppage, he’s gone from Philadelphia to Miami and now to Queens on the waiver wire.

Despite having been a member of four NL East teams within the past six months, the only big league club for which López has ever suited up is the Diamondbacks. A high-profile signee by Arizona out of Cuba, he was one of the better pitching prospects in the D-Backs system for the next couple years. López reached the big leagues briefly in 2018 and found a bit of success early in his career. He pitched to a 3.41 ERA over 60 2/3 innings during his second MLB campaign, but an underwhelming 17.1% strikeout rate indicated he might have trouble continuing to keep runs off the board.

That proved to be the case, as he’s posted a 6.19 mark in 32 innings over the past two years. His 19.6% strikeout percentage and 10.1% walk rate in that time are both worse than average. That said, the 29-year-old has actually had some success missing bats on a pitch-by-pitch basis. He’s generated swinging strikes on nearly 13% of his offerings in each of the past two years, about a point above the 11.7% league average for bullpen arms. López has also averaged north of 95 MPH on his fastball and has posted slightly better than average ground-ball marks.

Traded from Arizona to Atlanta in May, López spent the majority of last season with the Braves’ top affiliate in Gwinnett. He had much better results there than he’s had in the big leagues, posting a 3.03 ERA with a 26.7% strikeout rate in 32 appearances. Between his Triple-A performance and pair of remaining minor league option years, López has clearly piqued the interest of a handful of teams. None have yet been willing to devote him a permanent spot on the 40-man roster, but the Mets can stash him at Triple-A Syracuse as a depth option for the next couple years were they to keep him on the 40-man.

Lucchesi’s 60-day IL placement was an inevitability whenever New York needed a roster spot. The southpaw underwent Tommy John surgery last June and will miss most or all of the upcoming season recovering.

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Miami Marlins New York Mets Transactions Joey Lucchesi Yoan Lopez

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Mets Checking In On Free Agent Tony Watson

By TC Zencka | March 26, 2022 at 5:00pm CDT

The Mets are one of many teams to have checked in on veteran southpaw Tony Watson, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The only southpaws currently projected for the Mets’ Major League roster are Chasen Shreve and Alex Claudio, both of whom joined the club as non-roster invitees. Joey Lucchesi might at some point join them, but the former starter underwent Tommy John surgery in June, and he won’t be ready at the start of the year.

The Mets have one of the more improved rosters of the offseason, but Watson would fill one of their few remaining holes. The 36-year-old has quietly been one of the more consistent lefty relievers in the game over the last decade. He debuted with the Pirates way back in 2011, spending seven seasons with the Buccos. All these years later, Watson is still, in a way, contributing in Pittsburgh. He was dealt to the Dodgers at the 2017 trade deadline for Angel German and Oneil Cruz, the latter of whom is pushing his way to the Majors. Cruz has big-game power, and he is one of Pittsburgh’s most promising prospects, as well as being one of the more distinctive young players in the game.

For Watson himself, he moved on from the Dodgers after a half season, Watson signing with the Giants and spending three successful seasons in the bay. After half a year with the Angels, the Giants re-acquired Watson at last year’s trade deadline. For his career, Watson has never had a full season ERA higher than 4.17, and he’s made between 60 and 78 appearances in every season since 2012, except for the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

A number of teams have understandably checked in on Watson. It wouldn’t be surprising if almost every contender in the league had checked in on Watson, given his sure-to-be reasonable contract demands. Watson made $1MM last season, and he only once earned a yearly salary higher than $3.5MM. Even for non-contenders, Watson could draw interest as an eventual trade asset, though Watson himself would presumably prefer to choose his own contender at this juncture.

The veteran Watson is the top available bullpen lefty available on the free agent market. This deep into the offseason, few options remain. Fernando Abad, Hector Santiago, and Ross Detwiler are the other options available who spent appreciable time on a Major League roster last season. Watson is easily the most accomplished of the four.

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New York Mets Tony Watson

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Latest On Michael Conforto

By Steve Adams | March 25, 2022 at 11:01pm CDT

Michael Conforto is the top free agent remaining on the market and the lone qualifying offer recipient who remains unsigned. We’re now less than two weeks from Opening Day, and it’s still difficult to glean just where Conforto might sign. And, as ESPN’s Buster Olney points out, Conforto will have a hard time following the path of some other QO recipients who waited things out and took a midseason deal. Dallas Keuchel, Kendrys Morales and Stephen Drew, for instance, all waited to sign until after the draft had passed, thus freeing them from the burden of draft-pick compensation. That tactic already caused a player to sit out two months of the season, but with the draft now pushed back to mid-July, it’s an even less palatable approach for Conforto to take.

There’s been some talk of a potential reunion with his old team, but Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported yesterday evening that returning to the Mets is “extremely unlikely,” citing multiple sources close to the situation. With Starling Marte and Mark Canha joining Brandon Nimmo in the outfield, plus holdover infield/outfield bats like Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis still in the fold, at-bats for Conforto would be hard to come by — even with the designated hitter now in the National League.

Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, meanwhile, writes that the Blue Jays have “checked in” on Conforto, though perhaps only as a means of due diligence. The Jays have been looking for left-handed hitting to help balance a right-leaning lineup, and yesterday’s trade with the Rockies, swapping outfielders Randal Grichuk and Raimel Tapia, was a step toward that end. There’s arguably still a fit for Conforto in Toronto, as the Jays could cycle him, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., George Springer and Teoscar Hernandez through the outfield and designated hitter spots in the lineup. However, GM Ross Atkins also threw some cold water on the idea of another big-ticket addition, telling reporters yesterday that it’s “getting harder for us to continue to add from a resource standpoint and from a flexibility standpoint” (Twitter link via TSN’s Scott Mitchell).

The Guardians have been an oft-cited fit for Conforto, due both to the team’s paltry $56MM payroll and a generally unproven mix of outfield options. General manager Mike Chernoff didn’t comment directly on Conforto or any other free agents this morning, but did say in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that the front office is prioritizing its young players (Twitter link, with audio).

“One of the big challenges for us has been, how do we make sure we’re creating opportunities for those guys and not taking opportunity?” said Chernoff. “Not just signing a veteran guy that’s going to eat into some of the playing time that allows these guys to get their feet underneath them in the big leagues.”

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman suggests a new suitor in his latest podcast (Conforto talk around the 41-minute mark), calling the Rangers perhaps the likeliest team to jump on Conforto. Texas has already forfeited a second-round and third-round selection in order to sign Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, meaning the draft-pick cost of signing Conforto would be down to a fourth-rounder for them. That, however, would still run counter to prior reports on the Rangers’ spending plans; Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported shortly after the lockout lifted that Texas viewed Matt Olson and Clayton Kershaw (both of whom they pursued but were unable to acquire) as special cases but otherwise did not plan to plan to spend significantly.

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Cleveland Guardians New York Mets Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Michael Conforto

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Latest On Angels’ Pursuit Of Right-Handed Hitters, Payroll, Starter Search

By Mark Polishuk | March 24, 2022 at 3:02pm CDT

The Angels were exploring the market for prominent right-handed hitters, checking in with such notable names as Trey Mancini, J.D. Davis, and Luke Voit, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link).  However, that search may now be limited if not over, as after signing Ryan Tepera, the Angels appear only willing to significantly stretch their payroll for a starting pitcher, rather than a position player.

With Tepera signed for two years and $14MM, Roster Resource projects the Angels for a payroll of roughly $188.3MM, and a luxury tax number of just under $204MM.  The latter figure is well under the $230MM luxury tax threshold, and while the Angels have been willing to spend in general under Arte Moreno, it is clear Moreno considers the CBT threshold to be something of a barrier, as the Halos have only paid the tax once during Moreno’s ownership (in 2004, his second year owning the franchise).

In terms of pure dollars, the Angels had roughly $179MM on the books in 2020 before accounting for the prorated salaries of the shortened season, and then around $182MM in payroll last season.  So while the current $188.3MM payroll represents some increase, surely some Angels fans won’t be pleased at the idea that this Los Angeles-based team is hesitating about further spending, particularly since the Halos are coming off six losing seasons, and seven seasons without a playoff appearance.

If the club is only willing to spend in one area, focusing on pitching rather than hitting does make sense from a roster-building perspective.  In a response to the club’s long-standing pitching woes, the Angels added Noah Syndergaard and Michael Lorenzen to the rotation mix this year, though both of those hurlers come with some injury concerns.  Plus, the Angels have an even greater need for pitching than most other clubs since L.A. is deploying a six-man rotation — Syndergaard, Lorenzen, Shohei Ohtani, Patrick Sandoval, Jose Suarez, and Jaime Barria, and look to be the top six choices, with top prospect Reid Detmers in the wings.

The three names cited by Rosenthal also represent somewhat curious fits for the Angels, considering that Ohtani will get most of the DH at-bats and Jared Walsh is penciled into regular first base duty.  Voit is a pure first baseman but presumably no longer an option anyway since the Yankees already dealt him to the Padres.  Mancini has some outfield experience but is perhaps best suited at first base.  The same could be said of Davis, as while he has spent the majority of his big league career as a third baseman and left fielder, his defensive struggles at both positions could ultimately lead him to a future path as a first baseman/DH type.

Walsh is somewhat in the same boat, as he can play a corner outfield spot in a pinch, but isn’t known for his outfield glove.  Walsh also struggles against left-handed pitching, so the Angels are looking for a righty bat who can spell Walsh when a southpaw is on the mound.  The Los Angeles outfield picture consists of the returning Mike Trout (who could be moving out of center field), highly-touted young prospects Jo Adell and Brandon Marsh, bench option Taylor Ward, and veteran Justin Upton, who has himself been getting some reps as a first baseman.  It could be that in lieu of landing a new right-handed bat to share time with Walsh at first base, the Halos might now be prepping Upton for the role if he can adjust to the new position.

Though recent reports suggested that the Mets were looking to keep Davis, rumors have swirled for months about his trade availability, particularly as New York has added several other position players this winter.  Davis missed over half of the 2021 season due to injuries, but he has hit a very solid .288/.373/.472 over 893 PA in three seasons with the Mets.  Davis will earn $2.76MM this season, and while his addition wouldn’t necessarily be a big financial hit for the Angels, he would likely come at a notable trade cost since Davis is controlled through the 2024 season.

Mancini will be a free agent next winter, and thus would be cheaper on the trade front.  Money-wise, Mancini and the Orioles could be going towards an arbitration hearing, as Mancini filed for an $8MM salary in 2022 while the O’s offered $7.375MM.  As the Orioles continue to rebuild, they haven’t shown any inclination towards retaining their veterans, Mancini included — The Athletic’s Dan Connolly reports that the O’s haven’t talked to Mancini about a contract extension.  After sitting out of the 2020 season to battle cancer, Mancini made a triumphant return to the field last year, winning AL Comeback Player Of The Year honors while hitting .255/.326/.432 with 21 home runs over 616 PA for Baltimore.

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Baltimore Orioles Los Angeles Angels New York Mets J.D. Davis Luke Voit Trey Mancini

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New York City Reportedly Set To Lift Vaccination Requirement For Professional Athletes

By Anthony Franco | March 23, 2022 at 7:31pm CDT

New York City mayor Eric Adams will announce tomorrow that the municipality’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement for professional athletes will be lifted, according to a report from Sally Goldenberg of Politico. The news means that unvaccinated players on the Yankees and Mets — who were previously prohibited from playing in home games — will no longer be blocked from playing at Yankee Stadium or Citi Field, write Adrian Wojnarowski and Jeff Passan of ESPN.

ESPN writes that MLB officials had been in contact with the mayor’s office in recent days about the possibility of the Yankees and Mets being down some players for home games. League officials had maintained optimism the situation would eventually be resolved, but Wojnarowski and Passan report that the MLB Players Association had recently sent a memo to agents who represent players on those teams about the possible consequences they’d face for missing games on account of vaccination status.

As part of the new collective bargaining agreement, that includes lost service time and pay. That now only figures to be relevant in Toronto, as the Canadian government is preventing unvaccinated players from entering the country. That won’t have any impact on the Mets, but the Yankees are slated to play ten road games against the Blue Jays this season. Unvaccinated players are still prohibited from participating in those games and will be placed on the restricted list for those contests.

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Mets, Pete Alonso Avoid Arbitration

By Anthony Franco | March 22, 2022 at 4:55pm CDT

The Mets and first baseman Pete Alonso have agreed to a $7.4MM salary to avoid arbitration, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). That wraps up the first of three arb years for Alonso, who remains controllable through 2024.

Alonso’s salary is right in line with the $7.3MM figure projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz entering the offseason. It marks the first significant payday of his career, as he’d played the past few seasons on deals a bit above the league minimum. In both 2019 and 2021, Alonso earned more for winning the Home Run Derby ($1MM in each season) than he did in salary from the Mets.

That he’s a two-time defending Home Run Derby champ (the 2020 event was canceled due to the pandemic) speaks to the massive power he’s shown throughout his career. Alonso has hit 53 and 37 homers, respectively, in his two full seasons. He popped 16 more in the shortened 2020 season, a mark that tied for third in the National League. Altogether, he’s a .256/.347/.542 hitter as a big leaguer; he’s coming off a .262/.344/.519 showing last year.

The Mets recent run of arb agreements has brought their estimated 2022 commitments to a little under $277MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. They have a competitive balance tax number in the $286MM range, just shy of the newly-instituted $290MM tier that triggers the highest level of penalization in the CBA. The Mets will pay a 20% tax on their first $20MM in overages, a 32% tax on their next $20MM and a 62.5% fee on any money spent between $270MM and $290MM. If they exceed $290MM, they’d be taxed at an 80% rate on any expenditures thereafter.

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New York Mets Transactions Peter Alonso

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NL East Notes: Phillies, Bryant, Marlins, Reynolds, Marte, Jansen, Chafin, Mets

By Mark Polishuk | March 20, 2022 at 8:01pm CDT

The Phillies were often speculated as a suitor for Kris Bryant this winter, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the team did indeed have interest in the former NL MVP.  However, Bryant wanted as much long-term security as possible in the form of “at least a seven-year deal,” and he landed that desired contract with his seven-year, $182MM agreement with the Rockies.  Philadelphia’s offer topped out at five years, Nightengale writes.

Given the terms, one wonders if the Phillies’ offer to Bryant was somewhat similar to the five-year, $100MM deal the club ended up giving to Nick Castellanos.  Even that deal took some additional legwork, since as The Athletic’s Matt Gelb details, the front office first had to convince owner John Middleton that adding Castellanos was worth exceeding the luxury tax threshold for the first time in franchise history.  Middleton has long stated that he was willing to pay the tax for a difference-making type of acquisition, and the end result is that the Phillies are now projected to sit above the $230MM threshold with an estimated $236.46MM tax number.

More from the NL East…

  • While the Marlins have long coveted Pirates All-Star Bryan Reynolds, the Fish “weren’t planning on” dealing either Max Meyer or JJ Bleday in a trade package for the outfielder, Man On Second’s Joe Frisaro writes.  Bleday was the fourth overall pick of the 2019 draft and Meyer the third pick in 2020, with both youngsters considered among the top 100 prospects in baseball, let alone just in Miami’s farm system.  Pittsburgh is known to have a big asking price in any Reynolds trade, so it isn’t surprising that the Bucs are aiming high in their demands from the Marlins or other clubs.  The Marlins do have a lot of quality minor league depth, so a Reynolds deal can’t be entirely ruled out even if the Fish don’t move either Meyer or Bleday.  Frisaro notes that the Marlins are still looking at other center field options besides Reynolds, and the club is also looking for bullpen help either in trades or available free agents.
  • Starling Marte has been sidelined by injury for the last week, though both Marte and Mets manager Buck Showalter believe the veteran outfielder will be ready for Opening Day, according to Deesha Thosar of The New York Daily News and other reporters.  Marte’s injury is being described by the team as left oblique soreness, and Showalter said Marte underwent several tests to make sure there wasn’t any structural damage on Marte’s left side.  However, Marte said that an MRI revealed “something, not a broken rib, but something,” adding somewhat evasively that it was “something like” an intercostal muscle issue.
  • Kenley Jansen and Andrew Chafin each drew some interest from the Mets before signing elsewhere, SNY’s Andy Martino reports.  For all of the Mets’ moves this winter, they have been relatively quiet on the bullpen front, though Adam Ottavino was recently added on a one-year, $4MM pact.  However, quite a few notable veterans (i.e. Alex Claudio, Chasen Shreve, Felix Pena) have been added on minor league deals, and whatever younger arms aren’t in the rotation could also help out in the relief corps.
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Miami Marlins New York Mets Notes Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates Andrew Chafin Bryan Reynolds J.J. Bleday Kenley Jansen Kris Bryant Max Meyer Nick Castellanos Starling Marte

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Mets No Longer Looking To Trade Smith, McNeil, Davis?

By Mark Polishuk | March 19, 2022 at 4:40pm CDT

Dominic Smith, Jeff McNeil, and J.D. Davis have all been mentioned as possible or even likely trade candidates due to the Mets’ new influx of position players, yet it now seems as though the club is leaning against a deal.  According to SNY’s Andy Martino, the trio are now “expected to stay” in New York, with a trade of Smith or McNeil in particular looking like a “long shot.”

Of course, there could be some gamesmanship at play here for the Mets.  Publicly, the club has always expressed an interest in keeping the players, with manager Buck Showalter saying earlier this week that he saw McNeil as the team’s regular second baseman.  Saying the same thing privately could simply be a way of trying to entice more of a trade return from interested teams, as one would imagine the Mets would indeed deal any of the three players if another club made a big enough offer.

On the face of it, however, it also makes sense why the Mets would want to retain any or all of the three.  Several members of New York’s veteran roster have battled injury problems either in past seasons or as recently as 2021, plus Robinson Cano is an x-factor in his return from a season-long PED suspension.  Having Davis, McNeil, and Smith on hand as depth would be a big help for the Mets in the event of more injury problems, and the introduction of the DH spot also provides more opportunity to rotate bats in and out of the lineup, so everyone can theoretically stay fresh.

Health issues impacted each of Davis, McNeil, and Smith last season, resulting in only 73 games played for Davis, and both missed time and subpar performance for McNeil and Smith.  It’s safe to assume that these injuries factored into trade talks, as rival teams were likely unwilling to pay a premium for anyone coming off a checkered season, while the Mets likely aren’t keen on selling low on any of the three players.

In Smith’s case, the first baseman played virtually the entire season hurt, as he recently told SI.com’s Pat Ragazzo.  In trying to compensate for a wrist strain suffered in Spring Training, Smith then developed a partial tear in his right labrum in late May or early June.  Labrum surgery wasn’t required, but between the shoulder and wrist problems and a groin injury, Smith hit only .244/.304/.363 with 11 home runs over 493 plate appearances.

After a lot of offseason work to heal and rehab, Smith told Ragazzo that “Nothing hurts right now.  Trust me, if something hurts, everybody will know.  I won’t be out there playing if I’m hurt.  That’s something that’s going to change from the past.”  In regards to his shoulder, Smith felt it had healed but “it’s good enough to go” for the season.  “You still take some swings and feel stuff, and that’s just a part of it.  But….it’s a lot better than last year, I will say that.”

Martino reports that the Padres are one of the teams who have interest in McNeil and Smith, and that interest in Smith has continued even in the wake of San Diego’s acquisition of first baseman Luke Voit.  With Voit now adding to an already crowded first base/DH situation for the Padres, presumably any Smith deal would hinge on the Padres being able to fulfill their aim of trading Eric Hosmer, though Smith can also play left field.  The versatile McNeil could play second base, third base, or either corner outfield spot for San Diego, which would give the Padres some flexibility as they try to fill the void left by Fernando Tatis Jr.’s wrist surgery.

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New York Mets San Diego Padres Dominic Smith J.D. Davis Jeff McNeil

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Michael Conforto Turned Down Nine-Figure Extension Prior To 2021 Season

By Darragh McDonald | March 19, 2022 at 4:02pm CDT

Outfielder Michael Conforto turned down an extension offer from the Mets one year ago, reports Andy Martino of SNY. Per Martino’s tweet, the contract offer was “in the $100 million range” and “would have gone to about $120MM.”

Conforto’s market this winter has been one of the more difficult to predict, given that he followed up a run of four consecutive seasons of excellent production with a bit of a down year right before free agency. One year ago, at the time of this reported offer, Conforto had just finished a 2017-2020 run wherein he launched 97 home runs and hit .265/.369/.495, wRC+ of 133.

Other than the vague approximation of the final value of the offer, there’s nothing publicly known about it, making it difficult to evaluate Conforto’s decision. For instance, that number could have been spread over enough years to make the average annual value a non-starter. But just looking at the final number, it wasn’t outlandish for Conforto to reject that contract at that time. Just as a comparison, Nick Castellanos hit 98 homers over his past four years and put up a wRC+ of 126. He just signed with the Phillies for $100MM over five years. Conforto is a year younger than Castellanos, hits from the left side and doesn’t have the same defensive liabilities. If he had yet another great year at the plate in 2021, he certainly could have topped that $100MM number.

Unfortunately, Conforto had an ill-timed swoon last year, just as he was headed into free agency. Despite lowering his strikeout rate, he only managed 14 homers in 125 games and slashed .232/.344/.384 overall, for a wRC+ of just 106. Based on that performance, MLBTR predicted that Conforto would reject the qualifying offer, not find deals to his liking and eventually settle for a one-year, $20MM deal, hoping for a bounceback campaign and a return to the free agent market without the QO and with a better platform. So far, it’s seems possible things are following that script, as Conforto did indeed reject the QO is now just one of three free agents from that Top 50 list that remain unsigned or retired. (Trevor Story and Jorge Soler are the others.)

It is perhaps worth mentioned that Conforto is represented by the Boras Corporation. Superstar agent Scott Boras has often found creative ways to get his clients paid in a way that also ensures them future opportunities for further contracts. For instance, the aforementioned Castellanos signed a four-year deal with the Reds prior to the 2020 season, which came with opt-outs after each of the first two years of the deal. After a down year in 2020, he stayed put in Cincy and mashed through 2021, triggering his second opt-out and securing his $100MM deal this week. Carlos Rodon was also a candidate to settle for a one-year deal due to his excellent but injury-hampered season, but he ended up securing a two-year, $44MM deal that allows him to opt-out after the first year as long as he throws 110 innings. Carlos Correa went into the offseason looking for $330MM or more but couldn’t find a deal in that range. After switching his representation to Boras during the lockout, he just settled with the Twins for $105.3MM over three years, but with opt-outs after each season, allowing him to re-enter the market essentially at his will and take another shot at a mega payday.

Although it might initially seem like it was a mistake for Conforto to have turned down that $100MM, there’s still a chance he could come out ahead in the end. It’s entirely possible that he and Boras could find a similar deal to those examples, one that finds some middle ground between current financial security and future earning potential. He only turned 29 years of age a few weeks ago, meaning that it’s possible for Conforto to bank some money now and return to the open market going into his age-30 or age-31 season. All he has to do is put 2021 behind him and return to the form he showed in the previous four seasons.

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New York Mets Newsstand Michael Conforto

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    NPB’s Kazuma Okamoto, Tatsuya Imai Expected To Be Posted For MLB Teams

    Shelby Miller Likely Headed For Tommy John Surgery

    Red Sox To Place Roman Anthony On Injured List

    Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Diagnosed With Torn ACL

    Braves Claim Ha-Seong Kim From Rays

    Jason Adam Likely Headed For Season-Ending Quad Surgery

    Mariners Promote Harry Ford, Release Donovan Solano

    Phillies Sign Walker Buehler To Minors Contract

    Red Sox Extend Aroldis Chapman

    Recent

    Phillies Notes: Wheeler, Romano, Turner, Bohm

    Dominic Smith To Undergo MRI For Thigh Strain

    Red Sox Shut Down Liam Hendriks Due To Forearm Tightness

    Tarik Skubal Day-To-Day After Leaving Game Due To Side Tightness

    Masyn Winn Shut Down For Remainder Of Season

    Red Sox Sign John Brebbia To Minor League Contract

    Rays Select Garrett Acton

    Guardians Notes: Brito, Bazzana, Thomas

    Cardinals Release Garrett Hampson

    Red Sox Place Brennan Bernardino On 15-Day Injured List

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