The Mets have made plenty of news this offseason, but an ex-Met is making huge news right now – Mariners prospect Jarred Kelenic, who is at the center of the controversy that got now ex-Seattle team president Kevin Mather fired.
And when Jon Heyman joined Moose & Maggie for his weekly WFAN appearance on Thursday, service time manipulation was a big topic of conversation.
"It was certainly eye opening for the rest of us to see how this team president felt. They're trying to suggest he went rogue, but he's the team president – everybody in that organization had to know how he felt, and I'm sure many of them felt the same way, so that portrayal is ridiculous," Heyman said. "That's not the way you operate. Every team considers service time in decisions, and many teams probably manipulate it – it's not against the rules, unless someone can prove it, but threatening a player if he doesn't sign this bad deal should not be allowed. I find it hard to believe it's only the Mariners, but now they can throw him under the bus."
Kris Bryant is probably the shining example of what could be considered service time manipulation, and it's a loophole Heyman feels will need to be closed when baseball agrees to its next CBA.
"They have to figure it out, because (teams are) able to get away with it. Look at the Cubs, they understood the rules and were able to delay Bryant's free agency by a year," Heyman said. "You and I can look at it and say he's clearly ready, but they had a hearing and were able to say they thought he needed more seasoning, and there's no way to disprove that. The Cubs played within the rules."
One thing Heyman does believe, too, is that if Kelenic isn't in the majors on Opening Day but comes up really soon after, the Mariners will end up having just proved his point.
"He's certainly a confident young man who expects to be a superstar, but we'll see. I think he's ranked in the Top 5 among prospects, but that isn't always how it plays out," Heyman said. "People I talk to think he'll be a star player at the MLB level, and hopefully we'll find out soon – they need to put him in the Majors soon, and if they don't, they'll just be showing what we've assumed all along."
As far as current Mets go, the two current talks of the town are Michael Conforto and Francisco Lindor, both of whom are headed into their walk year – and Heyman doesn't think we'll see any traction on an extension for the former.
"I think $20 million a year for six years is fair, but I doubt he would take that this close to free agency. If it's six for $144 million, I'd take seriously consider that if I were him, but I don't think the Mets will offer that," Heyman said. "Scott Boras is his agent, and some Boras players have signed a year before free agency, but I find it unlikely that it will be done. Conforto does seem to like New York very much, and players are the one ultimately responsible, but I think it's a longshot."
As confident as Heyman is that a Conforto extension doesn't happen this season, though, he's just as confident something is done with Lindor within the next six weeks.
"He was hearing offers from Cleveland around $200 million, so if he gets one around $300 million, I think he takes it," Heyman said. "He's been looking forward to free agency, but there are four or five shortstops who I think are superstars that are all headed for free agency – so if you're Lindor, you might consider it, thinking you're in New York already and playing for the richest owner, why not try to get this done?"
Regardless of extensions, Heyman is bullish on the Mets having a win total over 90.5.
"Their lineup is fantastic after adding Lindor; Conforto is in his walk year, I expect Alonso to be better, and they have a lot of great hitters, so I expect them to score a lot of runs," Heyman said. "They have the best pitcher in the league, maybe in all of baseball, so I think they go over. I expect the Braves to win the division, but the Mets will be a playoff team."
Listen to Heyman's entire interview with Moose & Maggie below!
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