By Sam Bush
The New York Post’s Ken Davidoff released his annual free-agent predictions Sunday night, and he thinks the Phils will be players.
He predicted the Phillies will sign outfielder Michael Conforto to a six-year/$140 million deal and closer Kenley Jansen to a three-year/$40 million pact.
It would be quite the investment in Conforto given that he had a disappointing contract year, posting a .729 OPS in 125 games. However, he won’t turn 29 until March and had posted an .875 OPS between the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
First, Conforto will have to reject the one-year/$18.4 million qualifying offer the New York Mets extended to him, a decision that he has until Nov. 17 to make. In theory, Conforto could accept the qualifying offer, rebound in 2022 and set himself up to make even more money next winter. However, if his team gets the sense that he could even sniff a deal in the range that Davidoff projected, he almost certainly will decline the qualifying offer.
