Mets News: Michael Conforto to Be Further Evaluated After MRI on Side Injury

New York Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said outfielder Michael Conforto underwent an MRI and will travel to New York for further evaluation after he "tweaked his side," per Tim Healey of Newsday.

Conforto made 151 appearances for the Mets in 2019, finishing with 33 home runs, 92 RBI and an .856 OPS. He finished third among Mets position players in WAR (3.7), per FanGraphs.

Conforto was injured in Saturday's 5-0 loss to the Washington Nationals. During the fifth inning, he reached over the outfield wall in an attempt to rob Emilio Bonifacio of a solo home run. He was unsuccessful, and his left side hit the wall. Braxton Lee replaced him in right to start the sixth.

Although they didn't significantly upgrade the roster in the offseason, the Mets head into the 2020 season with a plausible chance of returning to the postseason for the first time since 2016. 

FanGraphs gives New York a 60.5 percent chance of reaching the playoffs, and the team's odds are 73.3 percent on Baseball Prospectus.

Fans are well aware of the extent to which injuries can derail the Mets' season, though. According to Spotrac, they had the second-most money ($50,889,270) lost to players on the injured list in 2019. Yoenis Cespedes undoubtedly accounted for a significant chunk of that figure after missing the entire season.

Still, seeing Conforto sent to New York to be evaluated isn't going to generate optimism as the Mets prepare for Opening Day against the Nationals on March 26.