The Mets have put the ball in Michael Conforto’s and Noah Syndergaard’s courts with regards to their future in Queens.
The club extended qualifying offers to Conforto and Syndergaard, the Mets announced Saturday night, ahead of Sunday’s 5 p.m. deadline. The outfielder and right-handed pitcher have 10 days to accept or decline the one-year, $18.4 million deals — either to come back to the Mets or head to free agency.
If either declines his qualifying offer and signs with another team, the Mets would receive a compensatory draft pick in return.
Syndergaard, who pitched just two innings over the last two seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2020, appears likelier than Conforto to accept the offer. The 29-year-old Syndergaard said in September that he was hoping to receive the qualifying offer and that he would be “extremely grateful” for it.
“I’m fairly certain that we’ll reach an agreement and I’ll probably be pitching here next year,” Syndergaard said after his season debut on Sept. 28. “I would love nothing more than that. New York has a special place in my heart and always will be.”
The offer to Syndergaard banks on his potential and ability to return to the tantalizing talent he was before elbow surgery. His comeback from Tommy John surgery took longer than expected, and when he did get back to the Mets — making just two one-inning starts before the season ended — he was not throwing his slider or curveball. He said he was medically advised not to throw the slider for the rest of this season and then decided on his own he should make the same decision for his curveball.
Conforto appeared headed for a big payday this offseason until he had a down year. The 28-year-old right fielder hit just .232 with 14 home runs and a 101 OPS-plus (100 is league average) in 125 games after thriving in the shortened 2020 season. He started slowly this season and then missed more than a month with a hamstring strain.
The former Mets first-round pick had an emotional final game of the season at Citi Field, knowing it could be his last if he heads to free agency and signs elsewhere.
“We’ll see what happens in the future,” Conforto said after that game during a press conference when he fought back tears. “But I loved every second that I was blessed to come play here in New York.”
Conforto could choose to take the offer and try to rebuild his value with the Mets in 2022, but even coming off a tough season, he would likely receive a contract offer worth more money spread over multiple years if he heads to the open market.
The Mets extended a qualifying offer to Marcus Stroman last offseason and it worked out for both sides after he accepted it. Stroman had a strong season to set himself up to cash in this offseason and the Mets got 179 innings from the right-hander, who posted a 3.02 ERA.