Author: Sal Vassallo
Editor: Brian Symons
The first offseason for new Mets owner Steven Cohen was an eventful one. In the best Mets offseason possibly since they signed Carlos Beltran in 2005, the Mets did a full overhaul on their roster. Their roster moves included the signings of reliever Trevor May, catcher James McCann and a trade for starter Carlos Carrasco and star shortstop Francisco Lindor. While Steve Cohen has set a 3-5 year window to win a championship, he also wants to build sustainable success. One great way to do that is by signing your star players to extensions and using them as the cornerstones for your team for years to come. While extension talks have not started in Mets camp, Mets GM Sandy Alderson said the team will likely start extension talks soon. Here are four players the Mets should and likely will consider extending.
4) RHP Marcus Stroman- Stroman’s Mets career started off a little shaky after he was traded to the Mets in 2019. The former Toronto ace went 4-2 with a 3.77 era in eleven starts with the team. His first few starts were shaky but he settled in to end the year. In 2020 he went into the season nursing a calf injury. A few weeks into the season, Stroman ended up opting out after it appeared he was rehabbing his calf to come back and pitch. Fast forward to the 2020-21 offseason and he became the first move for Cohen as majority Mets owner when he accepted the Mets 18.9 million dollar qualifying offer. Stroman would probably come in at number four on the list of Mets that they should consider extending. I think in a contract year he will have a nice year in the middle of the Mets rotation. If they could bring back Stroman for 2022 and beyond I’d love the move, but I'd look to extend the other three first. Either way, he would definitely be a candidate for a midseason or 2021 offseason extension as the Mets should see how he fares considering he has not pitched in a full year. Stroman seems to be really fired up to play for Steve Cohen and I am excited to see how Stroman fares in 2021!!
3) RHP Noah Syndergaard- The Mets acquired right-handed starter Noah Syndergaard as part of the deal that sent 2012 NL Cy Young Award winner RA Dickey to Toronto. The trade is described as a major win for the Mets who acquired Syndergaard along with catcher Travis D’arnaud as the main pieces coming back to the Mets in the deal. The man nicknamed Thor shot his way through the Mets farm system to make his debut against the Cubs in 2015. 2015 was the year he had his highlight moment as a Met as he was the winning pitcher in game three of the world series against the Kansas City Royals. When it comes to Noah Syndergaard he is electric on the mound as he easily tops 99 miles per hour on his fastball. His outgoing personality and activity on social media has made him a Mets fan favorite. However, he has run into some problems that he will need to address in 2021. Syndergaard could be described as a thrower and not a pitcher. Often he will try to beat major league hitters by blowing fastballs by them. That may work every so often however he must develop his secondary pitches and not always try to overpower hitters. I have noticed throughout his career that he can have success if he dials back the velocity and pitch to contact. He has all the tools to be a star pitcher for years to come, however, he has to put it all together upon his return from Tommy John surgery that he underwent spring training 2020. With Jacob Degrom, Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker, and David Peterson signed with the Mets through 2022 and beyond, Syndergaard and Stroman will have to impress to get the extensions they may be looking for.
2) Michael Conforto- The most interesting thing to remember about Conforto is the fact that he is a Sandy Alderson guy. Drafted by Alderson when he was the Mets GM in 2014, Alderson drafted Conforto with the 10th overall pick. Conforto credits Alderson for getting him through the early days of his career when he would get demoted to the minors after he would hit a slump. Still, Conforto would make his debut in late 2015 and was a big part of their run to the world series in 2015. Conforto has shown a huge amount of growth since his debut. Scouts had said he was not a great defender however he has made them eat those words as his career has gone on. He is by no means a gold glover but he is an above-average corner outfielder that can play center in a pinch. Hitting wise he has been known to be streaky however when he gets hot he can carry a team. Conforto also shook the streakiness in the shortened year last year. The man called Scooter hit eight homers with a career-high 322 average. It was a shortened season but he was clicking all year. His power numbers are also outstanding as Conforto has hit over 25 homers from 2017-2019. With a full 162 game season this year, I expect him to hit between 25-30 home runs. The Mets hope he can also keep his average up and avoid those cold streaks but either way it is very important the Mets at least try to extend Conforto. Conforto is a Scott Boras client so if the Mets look to extend their homegrown outfielder they will have to pay a pretty penny to do it. Still, I think It sends an excellent message to the rest of the team that if you perform, you will get paid, especially since Conforto is a homegrown talent. I hope to see Conforto in a Mets uniform beyond this year!
1) Francisco Lindor- When the Mets made the trade for Lindor and Carrasco it was the first big splash for Steve Cohen as the Mets owner. Lindor has been one of the top shortstops in baseball since his debut in 2015. Of course, when a team makes a deal for a star with one year left on his deal it is assumed that the team will make a good attempt to sign the player to an extension. That is no different with the Mets and Lindor. The man known as Mr. Smile will likely be in Queens beyond the 2021 season. Team president Sandy Alderson said the team will sit down with Lindor to start extension talks within the next couple of weeks. Lindor has set a deadline for opening day for extension talks. Although he had an off-year in 2020, there were a few factors to consider. Of course, it was a crazy shortened season last year with little to no spring training. Lindor was also playing for a Cleveland team that did not give him a fair extension offer. Lindor has been a top-three shortstop in baseball for years. A four-time all-star and two-time gold glover, he’d be a great cornerstone face of the franchise for the Mets for years to come. Get it done Mets!!!!
METS ARE OUR UNIVERSE
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