#Michael Conforto hopes Mets contract talks will pick up soon

As Michael Conforto approaches his walk year, he awaits potential negotiations that would keep him with the Mets long term.

On Tuesday, the Mets outfielder said discussions with the front office about a contract extension have not occurred this offseason, but he is hoping there will be engagement with team president Sandy Alderson in the coming weeks. Conforto is represented by Scott Boras, who has traditionally pushed his clients toward free agency.

“[Alderson] was on record saying we are going to broach that topic when we get closer to spring training,” said Conforto, who received the Thurman Munson Award in a virtual ceremony. “Now that we have a solid date for spring training things may progress, but at this point we really haven’t talked about extension stuff. We’ll see what happens in the next week or two as we get closer to spring training and I think things will probably progress as we get closer.”

Conforto isn’t the Mets’ only priority, as newly acquired Francisco Lindor also heads into his final season before free agency. Lindor, who arrived in a trade with Carlos Carrasco that sent Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Josh Wolf and Isaiah Greene to Cleveland, has indicated he doesn’t want negotiations to carry into the regular season.

While not exactly setting a deadline, Conforto also said he would like contract discussions to occur before Opening Day.

“I don’t want it to be a distraction,” he said. “I have been around guys who have been in extension talks before and they have expressed that same feeling that they don’t want it to be a distraction. All I have been trying to do this offseason is make myself better. I have seen the team grow in this offseason and we are starting to get a better chance to compete as the team shapes up and I am trying to do the same thing with myself.

“I don’t want the extension stuff, selfish-type stuff to be something that is going to be in the way of us winning games. I don’t want it to be a distraction to what we’re trying to do this year. I don’t want it to linger into the season. I am not going to put a date on it, but I don’t want it to be something that is constantly talked about as we’re getting ready for the season.”

Conforto, 27, had a .322/.412/.515 slash line with nine homers and 31 RBIs in 54 games last season. If he chooses to pursue free agency, he will enter a market thin on outfielders. Conforto recently avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $12.25 million.

“I have had conversations with the guys this offseason about what the goal is and that’s winning as many games as we can and proving ourselves,” Conforto said. “There has been a lot of hype around our team. I’ve had teams that have had a lot of hype, this team has some hype. We have got the bats, we have got [Noah] Syndergaard coming back and we have got the pitching, but hype doesn’t mean anything in the offseason. It’s all about what you are going to go out there and do in spring training and how you prepare and how you get ready for the season.”

In an offseason in which the Mets have added James McCann and Trevor May, among others, in addition to Lindor and Carrasco, Conforto was asked what it would mean if the team signed Trevor Bauer.

“We felt like we hit the ball pretty well last year, so any time you are talking about bringing in the top pitcher on the market that is always going to be a good thing,” Conforto said. “If you are asking me if we want pitching, of course we want pitching.”