There has been plenty of curiosity surrounding Michael Conforto. The former New York Mets outfielder is still sitting in free agency, seemingly having overplayed his hand when he turned down the Mets’ extension offer last year. One would expect that he would be signed at any moment, but when that will actually happen? No one knows.
Conforto does, however, have at least one team interested in his services. The Long Island Ducks reportedly checked in with his representatives to gauge his interest.
Former New York Mets outfielder Michael Conforto generating some interest
Scott Boras did clear up some of the mystery around Conforto still being on the market. He had injured his shoulder during fielding drills in January and was not healthy, leading to a shutdown of his market. However, talks have supposedly resumed, making it a matter of time before Conforto signs somewhere.
Conforto picked a bad time to have a down year. He produced a .232/.344/.384 batting line in his 479 plate appearances, his 101 OPS+ the worst mark of his career since 2016. While he did hit 14 homers and 20 doubles while getting on base at a solid clip, there were still questions about how healthy he would be going forward.
That offseason injury certainly did not help. As he had already turned down the Mets $100 million offer, and rejected the Qualifying Offer which could have been a bridge for the extension, he clearly expected much more on the open market. But that has not materialized.
It is fair to wonder if it ever will, at least to the extend that Conforto and Boras had imagined. At this point, there is little reason to sign Conforto before his draft pick compensation fades away. One also has to wonder if he would accept a one year deal now, hoping to have a strong few months to re-establish his value and try free agency again. But, then again, there is always Long Island…
Former New York Mets outfielder does have a team interested in his services. It just happens to be the Long Island Ducks.