Conforto setting sights on return
PORT ST. LUCIE — Michael Conforto is listening to his left shoulder, attuned to every twinge, pang and ache it provides as he attempts to prepare for the season.
If there has been a promising sight in spring training for the Mets it’s that of Conforto in the indoor batting cage at First Data Field pounding baseballs off a tee. Until last weekend he hadn’t been permitted anything more than practice swings without a baseball. The tee work represents significant progress in his rehab from left shoulder surgery. “I have been waiting forever to be able to do that and it feels great,” Conforto said Tuesday. “It really makes you understand how much you love it.”
Conforto injured the shoulder Aug. 24 at Citi Field swinging at a pitch from the Diamondbacks’ Robbie Ray. Conforto crumpled to the ground and emerged clutching his shoulder. The diagnosis was a shoulder dislocation, with subsequent tests showing he had torn the posterior capsule in the joint.
After deliberating into September, Conforto opted for surgery that he says should provide him with a “99 percent” chance of avoiding another dislocation to the shoulder.
But now the Mets and Conforto are left to wonder about a return. In recent weeks general manager Sandy Alderson set early May as a target, and that timetable remains in place as the Mets prepare for Opening Day.
For now the 24-year-old Conforto is comfortable with that timetable, even as the shoulder tells him it may not need all that time.
“There’s the May 1 date and that kind of gives me an idea,” Conforto said. “As a competitor it’s tough to look at that date and not want to get out there before that, but that is why we have the great medical staff we have.
“We brought in some new people and they are helping me understand I have got to be the player I was and I know I am going to be again and that comes from doing things the right way and go- ing through the progression.”
Conforto noted the May 1 target was set before he even arrived to Florida for workouts — a hint perhaps he’s stronger physically than Alderson and the medical staff anticipated.
But the Mets also aren’t going to rush just for the sake of getting Conforto on the field in April. As it stands, the team is prepared to open the season with Juan Lagares playing center field, possibly sharing duties with Brandon Nimmo. And when Conforto is ready the Mets will have a potentially potent outfield trio that also includes Yoenis Cespedes and Jay Bruce.
“Players always tell you they are better than they probably are [physically], so we are going to be aware of that,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “We want [Conforto] back, and when he’s there, he is ready for the rest of the season.”
Conforto began last spring training unsure if he would break camp with the team. But an injury to Lagares late in the exhibition season created an opening, and Conforto seized the opportunity, becoming the regular center fielder before earning a spot on the NL All-Star team as the Mets’ only representative.
In 109 games last season he posted a .279/.384/.555 slash line with 27 homers and 68 RBIs. If you ask Conforto, he can still be that same player, and better.
Until last weekend, Conforto had spent the last five months doing “tedious” work that involved hours of strengthening exercises in the shoulder and physical therapy.
“It cut into some relaxation time, but I was willing to do whatever I could,” Conforto said. “I want to be back out on the field with my teammates and give us the best chance to win and be the player that I am.”