The Giants appear to have landed one of the final marquee free agents of the Hot Stove season, agreeing to a two-year, $36 million deal with outfielder Michael Conforto, a source told MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand. Bob Nightengale of USA Today was first to report the agreement, which has an opt-out after the first year. The team has not confirmed.
Conforto comes on the heels of a stunning free-agent turnaround, as San Francisco was set to introduce shortstop Carlos Correa on Tuesday before pulling back on the deal. Correa subsequently signed with the Mets.
Conforto hasn’t appeared in an MLB game since 2021. He became a free agent last offseason but remained unsigned through Opening Day, then underwent surgery in April to address an injury he suffered while training in January. There was some speculation that Conforto could sign with a team for the stretch run, but that never came to fruition.
It remains to be seen whether the long layoff will impact his performance. The outfielder’s production dipped in his final year before free agency, as he hit .232 with 14 homers, 55 RBIs and a .729 OPS (100 OPS+) over 125 games for the Mets. He also missed more than a month with a right hamstring strain.
Conforto, who broke into the Majors a little over a year after the Mets made him the 10th overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, entered 2021 having recorded a 128 OPS+ over his first six seasons, including three straight (2017-19) with at least 27 homers.
The Oregon State University product set career highs with 33 homers, 29 doubles and 92 RBIs in 2019 and hit .322 with a .927 OPS during the shortened 2020 season.
Conforto bounced around the outfield in his first five seasons, seeing time at all three positions, but he was exclusively a right fielder in 2020-21. He isn’t an elite defender by any stretch, but he possessed a strong arm pre-surgery and has recorded a combined 10 outs above average (8 in LF, 2 in RF) as a corner outfielder.
