Should Mets explore reunion with Michael Conforto?

Speaking on Friday at the Mets' prospect camp, manager Buck Showalter said the team could pursue another outfielder when the lockout ends, noting that general manager Billy Eppler is "on top of it."

Showalter, who was not supposed to mention any current big league players by name, also slipped up and mentioned free agent Michael Conforto, suggesting that Conforto -- long thought to be on his way out of Queens -- could potentially return.

On the outfield situation as a whole, Showalter deferred to the GM.

"I’ll leave that with Billy, but it’s something we’ve talked about – where we are," Showalter explained. "We’re on the same page with everything where that’s concerned. It’s an area that we’re examining, see if we’re comfortable with it. We’re always gonna look within first … That’s one of the many things that Billy’s examining, and I believe he’s gonna be on top of it."

Regarding a potential reunion with Conforto, there are two big questions.

The first question is whether the Mets need another starting outfielder added to their current mix.

The second question is whether that outfielder should be Conforto.

Earlier this offseason, the Mets added free agents Starling Marte and Mark Canha, with the expectation being that they would join Brandon Nimmo to form New York's starting outfield. Whether or not it's Marte or Nimmo who plays center remains to be seen, but the Mets are certainly not hurting in the outfield right now.

Still, good teams find ways to make good players fit, and the Mets -- if they so choose -- now have an opening for Conforto since the universal DH is coming to the National League.

If the Mets were to add Conforto or another starting-caliber outfielder, that player could get most of the starts in one of the corner outfield spots, with Canha possibly getting lots of the DH reps.

The above would of course mean a potential logjam at DH, where the Mets already have candidates such as Robinson Cano, J.D. Davis, and Dominic Smith.

However, the presence of Cano -- who missed all of last season after his second PED suspension and is looking to return at the age of 39 -- should not prevent the Mets from doing anything. Whatever they get from Cano is gravy at this point.

As far as Davis and Smith, both of those players (and Jeff McNeil) are expected to be available via trade after the lockout, perhaps as a means for the Mets to bring back a starting pitcher.

I'm of the opinion that McNeil should be going nowhere. He should be the Mets' starting second baseman. But Davis and Smith are both expendable. And the addition of an outfielder like Conforto or Seiya Suzuki would make it easier for the Mets to part with Davis and/or Smith while potentially strengthening the starting rotation.

When it comes to whether Conforto would be a fit if the Mets decided to add another outfielder, the answer is a resounding yes.

As is the case with lots of players who succeed with the Mets but don't succeed at a level most fans hoped for, Conforto's career with New York has been woefully underappreciated.

In his seven seasons with the Mets, Conforto hit .255/.356/.468 with 132 homers (an average of 28 per 162 games) and 141 doubles. That one of Conforto's worst seasons came in 2021, when so many Mets unexpectedly underperformed their career norms, has left a bad taste in the mouths of many.

But Conforto, who will turn 29 years old on Mar. 1, is a player the Mets valued over George Springer last offseason -- to the point where they prioritized extending Conforto instead of signing Springer. The front office power structure has changed since then, with Eppler now the GM. But Sandy Alderson is still the top baseball decision-maker and Steve Cohen is still the owner.

And while a deep dive into Conforto's numbers from last season showed some concerning things, it revealed a greater number of promising things.

For instance, Conforto's walk rate was elite, and his chase rate was in the top 20 percent. He was also above average when it came to whiff percentage, barrel percentage, and xwOBA. And he was a plus defender in right field per Outs Above Average (OAA).

When you factor in the above with what Conforto has done over the course of his career, it seems likely that he's due for a bounce back in 2022.

From 2015 to 2020, Conforto slashed .259/.358/.484 with 118 homers and a 128 OPS+. In that same span, Nick Castellanos -- a free agent many Mets fans have pined for -- slashed .276/.327/.487 with 123 homers and a 115 OPS+. And Castellanos is a poor defender.

The point here is that the grass isn't always greener, and that there are lot of people who criminally undervalue Conforto while overrating players on other teams (such as Castellanos).

It should also be noted that after returning to the lineup following a brief benching in August, Conforto hit .271/.370/.453 with eight homers and nine doubles in the final 54 games he played in 2021.

When discussing a possible Mets reunion with Conforto, it's fair to wonder whether he would prefer to go elsewhere -- maybe to a team that plays in a more hitter-friendly ballpark -- in order to reestablish his value.

But if Conforto is open to a return to the Mets, and especially if he's looking to reset his value by signing a one-year deal, Eppler and Co. should be all over it.