Michael Conforto is officially a free agent after declining his $18.4 million qualifying offer from the Mets, and his agent Scott Boras, as always, was descriptive in explaining the market for the 28-year-old outfielder.
"Conforto's kind of been the king of diamonds," Boras told reporters on Wednesday. "Little League World Series, College World Series, and as a Met he's been an All-Star, he's been a pennant-winner, he was huge in the world series. He's basically become the King of Queens. In free agency now, he's kind of like the ace of many GM's hearts."
Conforto's baseball card may be more telling than if he were the playing card that Boras hinted at, and the back of his baseball card shows a steep decline in 2021. The former first-round pick batted .232 with a .729 OPS last year, as he was held down significantly by a brutal start to the season. The year before, he hit .322 with a .927 OPS, which Boras believes is being taken into account more than his 2021 performance by front offices around the league.
"Certainly we've seen from the interest level, everyone is understanding that the COVID issue and what he had the first few months of the season," Boras said. "I think everyone understands who Michael really is."
That being said, Boras expects a big payday for his client, who many thought took a risk by declining New York's qualifying offer to test free agency after a steep decline last year.
"The interest level has been extraordinary," Boras said. "There are no teams coming to me suggesting to me that Michael isn't going to get probably similar to what he would have gotten after the 2020 season."
As for whether a return to the Mets is in the cards, Boras wouldn't rule it out, but he expects Conforto to now have plenty of other options in the open market.
"When players become free agents, they know where they've been," Boras said. "They're getting an opportunity to understand where they can go, and then they have to make that decision."
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