Michael Conforto could be on the brink of signing with a new team.
The former Mets outfielder’s agent, Scott Boras, revealed to Post baseball columnists Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman on “The Show” podcast that he received four phone calls regarding the 29-year-old free agent Tuesday morning.
Asked jokingly if he could name the interested teams alphabetically, Boras played along, saying, “Well, let’s see. . .” He then added, “They’re all in the United States except one.”
That may have been a hint that Toronto is involved. The Blue Jays are known to want to add a left-handed bat.
Conforto, who injured his shoulder in January, underwent surgery in April that originally was believed to be season-ending. His rehab timeline now could get him back on the field in September.
“Ironically, now that the draft is over, is that there’s no compensation associated with signing Michael, and we’ve got four phone calls this morning,” Boras said on the podcast. “Michael, he has extraordinary healing powers and the doctors are saying as we walk through this, there’s potential for him potentially hitting in September certainly and we have to see … how his rehab goes to fulfill that expectation. But there is very strong interest by some very good teams.”
Conforto, an All-Star in 2017, hit .232 with 14 home runs and 55 RBIs in 125 games last season for the Mets.
Boras also represents Kumar Rocker, whom the Mets drafted No. 10 overall in 2021 . They did not sign Rocker, however, after concerns about his arm following a medical exam. After the Mets did not sign Rocker, Boras initially said that the right-handed pitcher was healthy “according to independent medical review by multiple prominent baseball orthopedic surgeons.” Rocker ended up undergoing surgery on his right shoulder in September, which Boras described as a “minor ’scope.”
The Rangers selected Rocker No. 3 overall on Sunday in the draft.
“I told Steve Cohen that while you’re an owner you just have to listen to people that praise certain elements of drafted players,” Boras said. “We strongly disagree with the appraisal that the Mets placed on Kumar. We had said that to him. As an advocate, and I’m sure if I’m an owner, I’m gonna look at this and say I expect the advocate to say that for the player — our medical staff, we have our own internal medical staff, we were very thorough about this, we had the best orthopedic surgeons in America examine Kumar and we said that there is nothing that is going to affect his pitching ability. There are always fuzzy MRIs. Max Scherzer’s MRI when he signed was not particularly great and frankly never has been.”
According to Boras, the Rangers’ doctor has said “all along” that Rocker is physically capable of carrying out an MLB career.
“As I said a year ago, someone’s not going to be very happy about this,” Boras said. “And in the end, I think that Kumar — and he was examined by one of the most prominent orthopedic surgeons in America in Neal ElAttrache and Doctor Meister in Texas — all these reviews came back and said he passed. The Mets didn’t believe that.”
Boras also addressed the topic du jour in MLB, Juan Soto’s sudden trade availability after he rejected a 15-year, $440 million contract offer from the Nationals. The agent said the average annual value of the deal “made the contract something not even in the range of consideration” for the 23-year-old superstar.
“When you’re the greatest young player in the game and you have youth and you’re gonna be a 26-year-old free agent, not since A-Rod have I had a player that’s been that good and that young of a free agent,” Boras said.