Conforto agrees to 2-year deal with Giants (source)
The Giants seem to have landed one of many closing marquee free brokers of the Hot Stove season, agreeing to a two-year, $36 million cope with outfielder Michael Conforto, a supply advised MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand. Bob Nightengale of USA Today was first to report the settlement, which has an opt-out after the primary 12 months. The crew has not confirmed.
Conforto comes on the heels of a shocking free-agent turnaround, as San Francisco was set to introduce shortstop Carlos Correa on Tuesday earlier than pulling again on the deal. Correa subsequently signed with the Mets.
Conforto hasn’t appeared in an MLB recreation since 2021. He turned a free agent final offseason however remained unsigned via Opening Day, then underwent surgical procedure in April to deal with an harm he suffered whereas coaching in January. There was some hypothesis that Conforto might signal with a crew for the stretch run, however that by no means got here to fruition.
It stays to be seen whether or not the lengthy layoff will impression his efficiency. The outfielder’s manufacturing dipped in his closing 12 months earlier than free company, as he hit .232 with 14 homers, 55 RBIs and a .729 OPS (100 OPS+) over 125 video games for the Mets. He additionally missed greater than a month with a proper hamstring pressure.
Conforto, who broke into the Majors a bit over a 12 months after the Mets made him the tenth general choose within the 2014 MLB Draft, entered 2021 having recorded a 128 OPS+ over his first six seasons, together with three straight (2017-19) with not less than 27 homers.
The Oregon State University product set profession highs with 33 homers, 29 doubles and 92 RBIs in 2019 and hit .322 with a .927 OPS through the shortened 2020 season.
Conforto bounced across the outfield in his first 5 seasons, seeing time in any respect three positions, however he was completely a proper fielder in 2020-21. He isn’t an elite defender by any stretch, however he possessed a powerful arm pre-surgery and has recorded a mixed 10 outs above common (8 in LF, 2 in RF) as a nook outfielder.
