Not exactly the greatest prize the San Francisco fans had in mind after losing out on both Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa, but the Giants and Michael Conforto have agreed to a two-year, $36 million deal. The deal will include an opt-out after his first season.
Conforto, 30, missed the entire 2022 season with shoulder surgery. He remained as potentially the most undervalued position player with upside coming into this offseason. According to sources, multiple teams have been interested. However, the Giants have inked the former all-star.
The Giants had big hopes for this offseason, but after losing out on Judge and with the failed physical for Correa those hopes and plans have fallen back to reality. After a disappointing 2021 and missing 2022, Conforto will be looking to bounce back to where he was prior. It may prove to be a high-risk, high-reward contract situation for the Giants
Is it a risk? Yes. However, it’s one worth taking, and the Giants are betting on Michael Conforto to bounce back to the player that he was before the COVID-19-shortened season. He had a disappointing 2021 season as well, so he will aim for that comeback. The left-handed hitter has proven to be a good middle-of-the-lineup bat. In that 2017-2020 stretch, Conforto got into 467 games for the Mets and launched 97 home runs with a 24.4% strikeout rate that was slightly higher than average but his 12.7% walk rate was well beyond par. With all that being said and the moves that have been made around the NL West the acquisition doesn’t prove to be a needle mover for the Giants.
Conforto will slot into an outfield that currently consists of Joc Pederson and Mike Yastrzemski as the starters.
The Mets had no intention of bringing Conforto back with the amount of money Steve Cohen has spent this offseason. They now have a payroll north of $380 million and will be looking to shed some salary rather than add more to it.
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