New York Mets' Jacob deGrom at the end of the...

New York Mets' Jacob deGrom at the end of the first inning of a spring training game against the Houston Astros at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida, Thursday March 11, 2021. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Add Jacob deGrom to the list of those who hope Francisco Lindor and Michael Conforto get long-term, big-money contract extensions from the Mets.

"Definitely," deGrom said Sunday. "Those two guys are great players, so you definitely want them around and want to be on the same team as them. It’s definitely something that I’m rooting for."

Teammates since 2015 and locker neighbors during spring training, Conforto and deGrom have talked about the process, too.

DeGrom went through it during spring training in 2019, when he gave the Mets a deadline of Opening Day — same as Lindor and Conforto have done this year (though Conforto seemed to leave more wiggle room, saying that "ideally" negotiations won’t continue into the regular season).

 

"He’s a guy that I trust and a guy that I’ve been around for a long time, so we talk about everything," Conforto said.

Did he get any advice from deGrom, whose five-year, $137.5 million deal seems increasingly team-friendly?

"Nothing that I’m going to be talking about on here, unfortunately," Conforto said.

Said deGrom, staying general: "Whatever they decide to do, make that their decision. Whether you take an offer, leave an offer, that’s your decision and go forward from there."

Mets' Michael Conforto, right, greets third base coach Gary Disarcina,...

Mets' Michael Conforto, right, greets third base coach Gary Disarcina, left, after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Sunday, March 21, 2021, in West Palm Beach, Fla.  Credit: AP/Lynne Sladky

That was the gist of what was said by homegrown rightfielder Conforto, who didn’t want to talk about the negotiations in any detail publicly.

He did acknowledge that they are happening — "There’s conversations going on, yeah," he said — but preferred to leave it at that.

"At this point, I'm pretty much just focused on baseball," said Conforto, who is represented by Scott Boras and is scheduled to be a free agent after this season. "I'm not really interested in speaking about the contract stuff. It's between me and my family, my agent and the team. So I just want to stay as focused on baseball as I can right now. That’s kind of where I'm at."

A new contract for either Conforto and Lindor would be record-breaking. Lindor is expected to fetch at least $300 million, be it from the Mets or another team. Conforto’s financial ceiling isn’t as high, but he still likely would top the Mets’ current biggest contract, David Wright’s $138 million in 2012.

The Mets' Francisco Lindor in a spring training game against...

The Mets' Francisco Lindor in a spring training game against the Washington Nationals on March 21 in West Palm Beach, Fla. Credit: AP/Lynne Sladky

Like Conforto, Lindor is a pending free agent. Unlike Conforto, Lindor already has changed teams.

Conforto, the Mets’ first-round draft pick in 2014 and one of the few holdovers from the 2015 World Series team, still has the chance to play for one franchise his entire career. He echoed a sentiment deGrom expressed last month, saying it would be cool to do so with the Mets.

"This is where I came up," said Conforto, 28. "I like the people I come to work with every single day. It’s been a good place for me. I’ve grown up a lot, I’ve learned a lot and I love the city. To answer your question, it’s a good place to be.

"It’s something that us as players, we think is a cool thing to spend your entire career in one place. But there’s so many other factors that go into it."

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