Giants' Michael Conforto: Making outfield debut Thursday
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Conforto (shoulder) is starting in right field and batting leadoff for the Giants in Thursday's Cactus League game against the Brewers.
It'll be his first appearance in the outfield since 2021. Conforto missed the entire 2022 season because of a shoulder injury that ultimately required surgery, but his rehab has gone so well that he appears likely to be a corner-outfield option for San Francisco throughout the 2023 campaign. The 30-year-old slugger was brought in on a one-year, $18 million contract in December.
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Giants' Michael Conforto: To begin OF play Thursday
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Conforto (shoulder) is scheduled to begin playing the outfield in Cactus League games Thursday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Conforto hit his second home run in as many games Tuesday out of the DH spot, and he can soon test his surgically-repaired shoulder with live action in the corner outfield. The early word from Giants camp was that Conforto was having trouble with the accuracy of some of his throws, but perhaps those issues have since been resolved. He inked a one-year, $18 million contract with San Francisco in December after having to sit out the entire 2022 campaign.
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Giants' Michael Conforto: Throws from 200 feet
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Conforto (shoulder) took the final step in his throwing progression Friday, Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Conforto played long toss from 200 feet, and Webeck notes that his throws were encouragingly clocked in the high 80s. The 29-year-old will be limited to DH duties in the early part of the Cactus League schedule, but it sounds like he'll be fit to serve as the Giants' primary left fielder come Opening Day. Conforto missed the entire 2022 season following right shoulder surgery before inking a one-year, $18 million contract with San Francisco in December.
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Giants' Michael Conforto: Will DH at start of camp
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Conforto will operate as a designated hitter in the early stages of spring training, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Areareports.
Conforto missed all of 2022 while recovering from right shoulder surgery, and he still needs to build up his arm strength, as Pavlovic notes. Once he completes his throwing progressions, the 29-year-old should see the majority of his playing time in left field, but he could log a fair share of reps as the designated hitter during the regular season as well.
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Giants' Michael Conforto: Gets two-year deal with Giants
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Conforto agreed Friday with the Giants on a one-year, $18 million contract, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
Buster Olney of ESPN relays that Conforto's contract contains an $18 million player option for 2024. Though Conforto doesn't represent the big free-agent bat the Giants had been hoping to sign after the team had been in on Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa, among others, the 29-year-old outfielder was one of the few hitters still available who has some upside. Conforto missed the entire 2022 season following surgery on his right shoulder but is expected to enter spring training without any limitations. Conforto is going to a park which suppresses left-handed power, so this isn't a great landing spot for fantasy purposes. However, the most important thing will be just showing he's healthy again.
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Michael Conforto: Hitting, throwing again
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Conforto (shoulder) remains engaged in hitting and throwing programs and isn't expected to face any restrictions for spring training, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.
Morosi notes that Conforto has been hitting for several months now, but his involvement in a throwing program implies that he's back to full health after he underwent surgery on his right shoulder in mid-April. Conforto had hoped to sign with a team last summer to serve as a designated hitter in the second half of the 2022 campaign, but he ultimately couldn't find an offer to his liking in free agency and sat out the entire season. Now that he's further removed from surgery, Conforto will aim to secure a more lucrative deal on the open market. The fact that he should be available to play the corner outfield at the start of the 2023 season should only help his efforts to find an opportunity somewhere.
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Michael Conforto: Late 2022 return still possible
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Conforto will look to sign a contract after the 2022 MLB Draft and could potentially return as a hitter in September if he can get ahead in his shoulder rehab, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
Conforto underwent surgery on his right shoulder in mid-April, and it was initially believed that he would miss the entire 2022 campaign while on the mend. However, agent Scott Boras revealed Monday that Conforto will be open to signing with a team in July after the draft with the possibility of a September return, but only as a hitter. "There is a possibility the swinging modality can be back to normal at a much earlier date than the throwing aspect," said Boras. "He had his surgery in April. There's a chance depending on how he progresses that hitting in the majors late in the season is a possibility." As Sherman notes, any prospective team would undoubtedly check into the status of Conforto's shoulder before agreeing on a deal.
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Michael Conforto: Won't play in 2022 after surgery
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Conforto underwent right shoulder surgery in mid-April and will not play in 2022, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.
Conforto reportedly suffered a shoulder injury in January, though agent Scott Boras declared him fully healthy by late March. However, Conforto required surgery to repair the issue, and he will now be out for the entire 2022 campaign. On a more positive note, he will have plenty of time to recover and gear up for the 2023 season. He'll be 30 by Opening Day next season and has a lengthy list of injuries that includes a previous shoulder surgery in 2017.
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Michael Conforto: Recovered from shoulder issue
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Agent Scott Boras said Wednesday that Conforto is now healthy and in contract discussions after suffering a right shoulder injury in January, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Conforto picked up the injury during a workout in January when he landed awkwardly on the shoulder, and he wanted to be fully healthy before attempting to sign with a team. The 29-year-old resumed talks with clubs last week, though it's unclear if he's expected to land a deal before the start of the regular season next week. Regardless, he'll have a delayed start to the season since he's already missed nearly the entirety of spring training. Conforto endured the worst year of his career in 2021 with a .728 OPS, 14 home runs and 55 RBI in 125 games.
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Michael Conforto: Declines qualifying offer
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Conforto declined the Mets' qualifying offer Monday and will head to free agency, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Conforto likely had more to think about than most players who are tendered a qualifying offer, as he hit free agency at a poor time. He posted a career-best 158 wRC+ in 2020, but his 106 wRC+ in 2021 represented his worst mark since 2016. He also missed over a month with a strained hamstring. Ordinarily, a player who's been a well-above-average hitter over the course of his career who hits free agency while still in his 20s would be in line for a big payday, but teams may be a bit more hesitant about Conforto given his unimpressive 2021 campaign.
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Michael Conforto: Gets qualifying offer
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The Mets extended a qualifying offer to Conforto on Saturday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.
Conforto will have a little less than two weeks to decide whether to accept the one-year, $18.4 million offer from the Mets or test the open market. The 28-year-old outfielder is coming off his worst season in the majors by fWAR (0.8), so it's conceivable that he could take the qualifying offer in an effort to re-establish his value in 2022. He has a career .356 OBP and 124 wRC+, so given his age, there should be quite a few suitors if he were to decline the qualifying offer.
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Mets' Michael Conforto: On bench Friday
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Conforto isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against Atlanta, Justin Toscano of The Bergen Record
Conforto started each of the last two games and went 4-for-9 with a home run, a double, three RBI and two runs. Kevin Pillar will take his place in right field and bat seventh.
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Mets' Michael Conforto: First three-hit game since July
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Conforto went 3-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs Thursday in a 12-3 win over the Marlins.
Conforto doubled and added two singles for his first three-hit performance since July 19. His RBI single in the third inning made it a 2-2 game, and his run-scoring base hit in the fourth gave the Mets a 6-3 cushion. It's been a disappointing 2021 for Conforto, who is hitting .228 with 13 home runs and a .718 OPS in 471 plate appearances.
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Mets' Michael Conforto: Swats 13th homer
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Conforto went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Marlins.
The outfielder took Elieser Hernandez deep in the fourth inning to open the scoring on the night. It's been a rough season for Conforto, who's had trouble staying healthy and been unable to find a groove at the plate when he was, and Wednesday's blast ended a 16-game homer drought for the 28-year-old. With only a handful of games left on the calendar, the pending free agent is slashing .223/.339/.371 -- the lowest SLG of his career -- with 13 homers and 51 RBI through 122 contests.
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Mets' Michael Conforto: On bench for Game 2
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Conforto is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Tuesday's doubleheader versus the Marlins, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.
Conforto went 0-for-3 with a walk, a run and three strikeouts during Game 1, and he'll take a seat with lefty Trevor Rogers starting the nightcap for Miami. Kevin Pillar will man right field in Conforto's place.
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Mets' Michael Conforto: Gets breather Wednesday
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Conforto isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Red Sox, Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News reports.
Conforto will get a day off after he went 1-for-11 with an RBI, a walk and four strikeouts across the last three games. Kevin Pillar will start in right field and bat eighth.
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Mets' Michael Conforto: Swats 12th homer
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Conforto went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 2-1 extra-inning loss to the Marlins.
His seventh-inning blast ended Sandy Alcantara's shutout bid, but it was one of the few bright spots on the night for the Mets. Conforto is doing his best to keep his squad in the playoff picture, slashing .296/.367/.556 over the last seven games with nine RBI, six runs and two of his 12 homers on the year.
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Mets' Michael Conforto: Socks 11th homer
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Conforto went 3-for-7 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI across both games of Saturday's doubleheader split against the Nationals.
He blasted a two-run shot off Wander Suero in the fourth inning of the matinee, giving the Mets a 9-0 lead in game that they eventually won 11-9 in extra innings. Conforto has endured a rough season, but he seems to be gearing up for a sprint to the finish line, batting .286 (6-for-21) with three of his 11 homers on the year over his last seven games.
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Mets' Michael Conforto: Swats 10th homer
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Conforto went 1-for-1 with a walk and a two-run home run in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Marlins.
The 28-year-old has only three hits in his last 20 at-bats, but two of them have left the yard and he has a 5:6 BB:K over that stretch. Conforto continues to tease a turnaround but hasn't been able to find consistent success at the plate this season, leaving him with a poor .217/.340/.368 slash line, 10 homers and 36 RBI through 97 games.
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Mets' Michael Conforto: Smacks homer in win
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Conforto went 1-for-1 with a three-run homer in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Nationals.
Conforto took a seat against left-hander Sean Nolin, but he was summoned off the bench to face right-handed reliever Mason Thompson. With Jeff McNeil and Kevin Pillar on base, Conforto knocked Thompson's very first offering out of the park to erase a one-run deficit and put the Mets ahead for good. The long ball marked the outfielder's first career pinch-hit home run. The soon-to-be free agent is batting .276 with three home runs in August, well above his season mark of .218.
