The 2022 MLB season is now more than two weeks old, yet there’s one significant free agent that’s still unsigned. Outfielder Michael Conforto was ranked 32nd on the MLBTR list of the top 50 free agents, the only one of that group still without a team.
The last report on Conforto, from about three weeks ago, was that his market had been slowed by an injury suffered during the lockout. Conforto’s agent Scott Boras explained the delay, telling reporters that the outfielder suffered a right shoulder strain while training in January.
At the time of that report in late March, Joel Sherman of the New York Post relayed that Conforto had been hitting for five weeks, meaning that he was taking hacks weeks before the lockout ended on March 10. That seemed to at least cast a bit of doubt on the report from Boras, though the health issue seems to be lingering, despite the fact that Conforto has been hitting for about two months now. Mike Puma of the New York Post relays that the shoulder injury was significant enough that surgery was considered, although Conforto opted to forgo that and try to let the shoulder heal. Although Puma doesn’t provide any specific diagnosis of the injury, he reports that Conforto has still not resumed throwing and even suggests it’s possible Conforto may not be able to return to the field at all this season.
If that ends up being the case, it would be another step in a string of bad luck for the outfielder, who already had the misfortune of having a down year just as he was about to qualify for free agency. From 2017 to 2020, he hit 97 home runs and slashed .265/.369/.495. In the estimation of FanGraphs, that production was about 33% better than league average (133 wRC+) and helped him produce 14.9 wins above replacement. However, his offense slipped in 2021 to .232/.344/.384, a wRC+ of 106, still above average but well below his previous level.
He was already going to be challenged to find a contract to his liking after that dip, and after declining an $18.4MM qualifying offer. MLBTR predicted that Conforto would settle for a one-year deal in the $20MM range and then return to the open market without the QO attached, hoping for better offers. This was a route previously taken by players like Yasmani Grandal and Marcell Ozuna, who each took one-year deals and eventually got four-year contracts worth over $60MM. How it will play out for Conforto now will be largely determined by the eventual timeline of his recuperation, which is currently quite murky.
If this injury is as serious as reported, Conforto might just linger on the market long enough to follow that Grandal/Ozuna plan, just without the one-year deal. If he’s able to heal his shoulder and get back into game shape over the next few months, this year’s draft is scheduled to take place July 17-19. Once the draft is completed, any team signing Conforto won’t have to worry about the draft pick forfeiture. Although his extended absence will likely dim the enthusiasm clubs will have for signing him, it’s also possible that a contender suffers an outfield injury of their own that spurs them towards taking a chance. For Conforto’s part, he will surely want to show his health, if he’s able to, in order to improve his earning power after the 2022 season. Even a contract with a modest financial outlay for the season’s final months could be enough to get him onto the field as an audition for his next job. The Marlins, Yankees, Padres, Rockies, Blue Jays and Rangers were known to be interested in him before this injury was revealed.
He screwed himself.
This has to be on his agent. Probably thought he’d be a quick sign even with his injury issue. The injury coupled with arbitration still keeping payrolls in flux keeps him in limbo.
I was going to say his agent might be worrying about his job, but just saw its boras. Nevermind, this is on Conforto.
Not sure how Boras would think he’d have been a quick sign. The Boras Agency always does well because if the number of clients each season it represents but most of the time there are losers as well as winners.
He’s a young outfielder coming off a down year with a QO attached. I’d expect a quick sign. A short term contract with opt outs like Correa, to get back on the field or at least with a teams staff to start the year.
But he needs to find a team willing to give up the pick and he’s no Correa.
He might as well get surgery. He is done for the year and no one is going to give him anything but minimum anyways.
29 isn’t young for an outfielder. I never had understood the fascination over him, other than he played in NY and got all the press from playing there. The guy averaged 17 Homeruns and 55 RBI a year. Not like he was Willie Mays. He reminds me of Gardner with the Yankees. Avg player that all New Yorkers went Gaga over when there was 50 more out there that could do the same.
But they can’t. Playing in NY is not something every player can do. Those who can, and do well, are the exception.
Jdt hate to disagree but there are probably more than 50 that yes could play outfield in NY. presently on a roster today easily. Yes I understand the NY media and all of that but probably 99% of all MLB players could handle NY.
Conforto put up four straight seasons prior to 2021 where he was a very good, productive hitter while playing in a pitcher friendly ball park.
Your numbers are very wrong.
From 2017-2019 (age 24 – 26) he had 27 28 and 33 hr and 48, 53 and 63 total xbh while slashing 257 363 492 856 w. 131 ops+
That’s pretty f***ing good no matter where you play
Then in shortened 2020 he really broke out w a 322 412 515 927 line w a 154 ops. Obv the counting stats were lower bc it’s a short season but pace wise it’s 27 hr w 63 total xbh
RBI is a team dependent stat but his totals over that stretch were 68 in 109 games, 82, 92 and a pace of 93 in 2020.
He was bad in 2021 and I’m not saying he was even at a guy like springers level but your characterization of pre 2021 conforto is also ridiculous bc without 2021 he was objectively speaking a better player than Castellanos.
Except Gardner was a truly elite defender in his prime.
This could be the most uninformed take I’ve ever seen. First of all, he was very good his rookie year, which wasn’t even half a season. Sophomore year was bad, went back to minors, came back up and did well. Became full time starter in 2017 and was one of the better players in baseball, then the horrific shoulder injury 2/3 into the season. Rushed back in 2018 and had an okay year, 28-82 if you’re only looking at HR-RBI, but a 797 ops and 122 ops+. Then 2019 very good, 2020 better than that. From 2017-20 when he was a full time starter he averaged 265-369-495, an 864 ops and 134 ops+, and a 162 game avg of 34-95. Then a terrible 2021 and a stupid move of turning down the QO. But at least know your players before you comment. Far better than avg by every measure (WRC+, OPS+), and way better than Gardner.
Conforto is def better then Gardner and idk what fascination you’re talking about he wasn’t whorshipped in NY he was a solid player that had some holes in his swing but not many were sad to see him go
Lol RBI’s? Is this 1978?
Conforto has been a 3-4 WAR player, he’s put up a career OPS of .824 with an OPS+ of 124.
He’s a quality MLB player by any measure.
Hear that narrative all the time. If a player has a bad year in NY, they can’t handle the pressure of NY. No, sometimes players changing teams or cities just have a bad year. Chris Archer was bad after being acquired by Pittsburgh. No one ever was arrogant enough to say he couldn’t handle the pressure of Pittsburgh. When Juan Gonzales had a down year in Detroit, it wasn’t because he couldn’t handle Detroit. The Coaches in NY messed with Sonny Gray, causing him to have a bad year. Gallo is a 3 true outcomes player. Coaching him to make more contact is, of course, going to mess with him. But blame it on the pressure of NY, if that makes you feel better. If you hold the bar of handling the pressure in NY at the level of Conforto’s production, that will definitely reduce the pressure.
“Except Gardner was a truly elite defender in his prime.”
LOL
He took the worst routes to balls and had a noodle for an arm. Elite defenders are all around amazing. Not just fast.
Playing in NY is NOT a special talent! Talent doesn’t change according to geography! NY isn’t THAT special, enough with this obnoxious myth.
Those are completely made up averages counting in the 2020 COVID season and his rookie year. His 162 game average is 28/85. Granted 2021 was a poor year but his previous seasons averaged a 3.4 WAR
There are some that are effected, look at javier vazquez 2 (i believe it might be 3) separate times the yankees acquired him because of how well he was doing then with the yankees he fell off a cliff each time. Went else where back to form. So it is definitely a thing or it could be he coaching staff just dont know how to handle players / talent. Also the NY thing while probably harsher with the yankees than the mets have had there share in queens as well.
There is no causation. Statistical anomalies exist. What you are describing is simply the way the cards sometimes play out, again, there is no causation. If you poured over stats you could find players similar to Vasquez, only their bad team would be Detroit, or Minnesota or wherever. Nothing unique here. No causation. A certain randomness needs to be accounted for in stats. And a clear, rational causation must be possible.
133wRC over a four-year peroiod. What’s there not to understand? And how is that an “average” player?
You just sound like one of those anti-NY folks.
I a RS fan that’s seen Gardner in LF at Yankee Stadium for a long time. He was elite in LF.
Even with the injury issue?? He declined the QO in Nov and got hurt in Jan
They clearly planned for him to get at least a Chris Taylor type offer and hopefully a 5/100 type deal even with the down year- and at worst, thought they could replicate the QO at the end of the lockout. Like most other QO rejecting FA have done in the past. Blaming Boras for the injury is laughable
He screwed the Mets
If he accepted he surely would have. Count your blessings you don’t have $18.5 million in dead weight on your roster.
Oh I do, believe me!
More himself than the Mets. Had he accepted the QO, the Mets wouldn’t have signed both Marte and Canha. Then if he were incapable of playing, he’d be getting $18.4M from the Mets to rehab for a future team. If the Mets have any injuries mid-season, it may be worth signing him for the rest of the season since they would not get the pick anyway.
Wow. That sucks.
Eat a dik, stefan
Terrible decision not accepting the qualifying offer. Terrible representation too.
Lol told Moustakas not to also and he settled for $8.5 mil
Well, it IS Boros, who loves himself twice as much as he loves his clients.
I agree. You’re coming off a down year, and there is an impending lock out that will probably mean you have no option to sign for a couple months. If someone offers me $18 Million guaranteed dollars, I take it. Play for the big contract in 2023.
I think the injury is just a false flag from Boras. His guy got burned and needs damage control. If Conforto’s shoulder was really so bad that he can’t throw and considered surgery, would he be in the cage hitting for 5 weeks? Since management and players couldn’t negotiate during the lock out, no one can verify they called to check in on Conforto in January and were told there was a shoulder issue. And they can’t deny it either.
You think Boras is so worried about your opinion of him that he’d intentionally degrade his own clients earning potential just to save face?
seriously? Boras makes more money per month than you do in multiple years. He couldn’t give a damn what you think. He was aiming for a $100M+ deal as the best OF on the market. Convincing teams to follow a 4 year track record over a single year aberration is what you pay agents for… so many people are oblivious to what an agent does, apparently. It’s hilarious and sad at the same time…
I don’t think Boras cares about my opinion, but he certainly cares what current outfield buyers think about all the offseason outfield buyers passing on his client to the tune of being a free agent well into April. That hurts his market if there is no demand.
You seem to be fighting everyone on this post really hard. Wouldn’t be surprised if you work for the Boras Agency. More Boras spin for the masses. He fought hard to convince teams Conforto would bounce back, as you say, and failed. Now he’s trying to save face.
Also, Conforto was not the best outfielder on the market.
Nah I’m just telling the fools who think the best agent in the game intentionally hindered his clients market are dumb
And look. Conforto is now going under the knife. I’m sure he’s doing that to save face for Boras too, right? Shoulder surgeries are simple right!!! Go away
Worse, he turned down 5/100M in January ’21 before the QO.
That’s boras for you. Either massive overpay or no play.
Yeah, I don’t believe this new report that states his injury is so bad he may not be able to return to the field at all. Why? Because I guarantee if someone had an offer on the table to his liking that injury would heal & there was nothing discussing him as potentially injured and off limits until nobody wanted to pay. More spin from Boras to rewrite a narrative for his client not receiving an offer.
Makes sense Clip. Maybe Yankees can pick him up, would be a vast improvement over gallo or hicks.gallo should be released, but the Yankees would never do it, they owe him money.
You don’t really know that though. I doubt he was meeting with doctors and surgeons to make sure his agent looks good.
It’s a nice story and I get it that every likes to hate boras for no real reason, but that’s all it is, a story
Yes, you’re correct, but I look at the source & the information that flowed from the source prior. That same source (Boras) said his client had a minor injury and didn’t pursue teams, but then said he was ready, whereas now he may not be “able” to even return to the field? It sounds too convoluted to come from the same source and be truth. It’s obvious that one version was a lie.
Nonetheless, I’m not asserting that Conforto didn’t have something wrong, but the timing and degree of injury is a completely different story (quite literally). Alas, time will tell, my friend, time will tell.
Mr. Conspiracy theory thinks an agent is going to hurt his client’s and his own earning potential to save face… for a random Joe
Hahahahah. Boras would literally be sued for malpractice if that was true. Go google Fiduciary Relationship. But hey, who needs reality in your world!?
Are you Scott’s hype man?
I doubt he was meeting with doctors and surgeons, at all.
So you think it actually happened the way it was reported BeforeMeCourt? If that’s so, he would just as easily be sued for malfeasance. Negligent would be the best outcome for him at that point.
Did you read the progression? It is implausible, if not impossible, to have a direct connection to Conforto to have pushed out information that inaccurately. And his fiduciary relationship is not in jeopardy at all if his client is part of the scheme. I guarantee he didn’t take the initiative to do all this on his own – he’s not that stupid, but he is an attorney, & spin is his main function.
Why would failing to land your client a big contract because you over evaluated his market, then telling a bunch of writers his guy had a shoulder problem that slowed his market (in order to save face), be malpractice? Teams get his medical records to evaluate if they are negotiating a contract. Heck, teams sign guys after Tommy John surgery knowing they will miss time to start the year.. Boras says now he is magically healed and his market is heating up. I bet there’s no mention of a shoulder problem when they review the medicals…
Problem is there were little to no contenders looking for an outfielder in April. So who is going to pay the man?
Lmao he’s going under the knife
There’s no false injury. There’s no scheme. Just you, being an idiot
I think it’s a lot more likely it played out how it played out than what you think yeah. I think it’s fairly common for players to feel good and say too much to the media trying to get a contract signed.
Boras gets top dollar with the premium players. He tries to get top dollar with pretty good players, and quite often it blows up. Conforto made a very poor decision, not accepting the Mets qualifying offer. That is before he was injured. So many players greatly overvalue their real market value.
If conforto waits until after the draft do the Mets lose the draft compensation?
They aren’t losing anything, they just won’t get an additional pick.
They lose the potential pick if he doesn’t sign
Yes. Same thing happened a few years ago with Houston and Kuechel. He waited until after the draft and signed with ATL. Astros did not get the comp pick.
Right, he was a Boras client also. No injury there, just the asking price was far removed from reality. Boras cost Kuechel quite a bit of money.
And Craig Kimbrel a couple years ago with the Cubs
Although he did get Kimbrel a nice deal nonetheless.
His options before this injury situation were the QO, 1 year/$20M or 2 years/$40M with an opt out, etc. etc. so he might as well have taken the QO to reestablish himself. It’s such a generous bounce back figure/modest 1-year extension for valuable players with a dip in their stock or uncertainty of their multi-year longevity at that point.
Like take Brandon Belt, for instance- 1 year/$18.4M was a nearly perfect deal for him. Same goes for Conforto.
Belt is probably the most criminally underrated and under paid player in the league.
He got a decent payday from Bobby Evans and didn’t turn into an elite offensive player until the Zaidi regime took over. Underrated but has made good money
Conforto wasn’t getting 20m, even for one year. The loss of a draft pick, was weighted against him. There were too many outfielders that were desired more than Conforto. He was a good bounce back candidate at a bargain price of around 16m a year. That was his value before the injury. Now he has no value if he can’t throw the ball.
Conforto sitting on the IL bench will probably be more productive than Duvall playing. Bring him in!
More productive than Gallo certainly.
The injury is alarming. Given the Yankees reluctance to spend, if the injury is as bad as the article suggests the Yankees are out of it. Not sure where they turn now for a consistent left handed situational hitter. Any ideas guys?
If he was injured he would’ve taken their offer, imo. I don’t buy this spin at all. Boras is the infection & the cure.
As far as LH hitting, no, not unless they seek out Tyler Naquin as was my suggestion for a backup/replacement CF. They also have Inciarte stuck in the minors.
They shouldn’t need any LH hitters though, especially with their 3 hitting coaches & the ingenuous philosophy of “Hitting strikes hard” that’s working so well…
Well they spent so much money on their four hitting coaches, why should they actually invest in players? If they had anybody in the minors who is any good they bring them up at this point. What they should do is just let Stanton play the field most days then they wouldnt need Gallo at all. Donaldson can dh if he ever starts hitting that is,DJ could DH also at times if he’s not playing third or first or something
Yeah, that’s another option too. And is it four? I can’t keep track of the coaches anymore….
I was exaggerating, probably more like three.
Offer came and rejected first week in Nov
He got hurt in Jan
How out of touch are you, Clip?
I can’t understand players using Borass as their agent. Granted he lands some fantastic contracts, but he also gets several players less than they would have gotten without him. Superstar’s I can justify, but tweeners lose out
Correct
Another non-elite Scott Boras client who grossly overplayed his hand. Boras time and time again gets headlines with his clients that anyone could get paid and everyone else ends up with a lot of bluster and then some humble pie.
Modern baseball. He swung and missed.
and he turned down (I’m sure “advised to turn down”) what was it, $100, $125 mil, from the Mets before last season started?
For years he would say some version of “at the end of the day, Boras works for me,” “I wanna be a Met for life,” and “I’ll make the call, my agent just advises…”
If any of that was REALLY true, he’d still be a Met, making $20(+) mil a year…. instead… this (and the rumors around these parts that he actually hurt his shoulder doing drunk shenanigans on a bachelor party, though it can’t be totally confirmed… but it’s also not totally dismissed either lol… hey, he’s still a young man and will eventually make millions more, I’m sure)
My cousin’s neighbor’s friend’s barber’s sister’s aunt’s plumber heard it wasn’t a bachelor party, it was skydiving.
Nice rumor mongering (and not the reasonable type done by the MLBTR staff).
I don’t feel sorry for Conforto at all…greed may be good but karma is king
Karma doesn’t exist and kings shouldn’t exist.
Hopefully Nimmo is paying attention, because while not exactly the same it is a similar situation.
You are a good, not great player. Don’t let your agent convince you that you are worth $300 million.
I wish teams and agents would start ‘overpaying’ with incentive laden contracts, well over the AAV. Let’s start rewarding players who are available to their teams every week. Nobody helps a team win anything if they can only cleat up half a season.
You mean to tell me teams aren’t tripping over each other to sign an outfielder who can’t throw? Go figure!
He should’ve taken the 5/$100 offered by the Mets, too greedy.
Another example of Boras misreading the market.
Not buying his “injured while no one was looking excuse” he’ll sign shortly after the draft, and play for a team down the stretch.
I wonder, considering Boras’ impact on labor discussions this winter, if this has any effect on the international draft discussion?
The way they left it, if the two sides haven’t agreed to an international draft (which I think would be awesome, sidenote) after this year’s MLB draft, the current Qualifying Offer system will stay in place.
Since the QO seems to be consistently screwing over Boras’ clients, and he holds so much sway over the MLBPA, I wonder if we’re getting any closer to an international draft?
Rangers would give him 300 mill today if he played shortstop…because why not
If he could play SS, he’d almost be worth it
The “King of Queens” can go play for the Long Island Ducks, they have an open spot and are having tryouts right now
Not everyone would have to give up their second pick. The Blue Jays have already given up a few….they would lose their 5th or 6th.
Jays didn’t sign any qualified free agents. They’d give up their 2nd pick. But they also got a couple of compensation picks so wouldn’t be on the sidelines of the draft if they did give up a pick. You might be thinking the Rangers.
I actually feel bad for him. The risks he took not accepting the multi year offer and turning down the QO has resulted in nearly the worst case scenario. His market is near zilch. For one, his injury is not being tracked by any organization meaning teams are wholly dependent on Boras for evaluation. Secondly, unless he plays in an independent league he’ll have no opportunity to play at all unless he signs somewhere. I don’t see anyone eating a draft pick for him much less offering any sizable compensation or a 26 man spot just to see if he can play. At this point he’s probably not playing till after the draft in July and his best deal might be a bargain ’22 rate with a healthier team option for ’23.
He will be signed by the Detroit tigers in June. One year contract. Borrows a huge tiger fan
Do you mean July? I can’t see anyone signing him in June, once you are that close to the draft might as well wait until it’s over and not have to surrender the pick.
I’m curious if anyone knows-
Hypothetically is there any way the Mets could sign him to a minor league contract of some sort that he would be able to opt out of, where they would retain the right to compensation if he were to sign prior to the draft?
I’m thinking it would be a benefit at this point to both sides. He could go out and play and demonstrate what he can and can’t do, while the Mets would enhance their rapidly diminishing chances of getting some compensation.
I dont really see a way to structure it, though. I would think as soon as they sign him to any deal that would eliminate any compensation pick.
No.
Another victim of Boras putting himself before his clients. For every $300 million contract he gets for a client there’s another that would have been better off without him.
I came here for the stupid takes. There were many.
The Boras mentality is that the players work for him, not Vice Versa. Ask Chipper about his experience with Boras…
I wonder if this is the same shoulder that he dislocated on a swing a few years back. If so this could be a chronic issue and a major red flag going forward.
Boras losing his fastball.
I don’t think it will ever be said officially, but Conforto looked hurt throwing the ball even during the season. He seemed to have a much better arm earlier in his career. His throws from right looked labored and weak even when he tossed guys out at the plate. I wonder if that injury lingers from running into the wall?
There are definitely players that can not handle Boston or New York media. I remember Boston was going to make a deal for Zach Grienke back in 2010. The deal fell through because Grienke suffers from social anxiety and he didn’t want to deal with the East Coast press corps. You see players have a bad year when they first sign with New York or Boston, you usually end up seeing massive improvement the second year, if they are comfortable. By the middle of the second year you know if they can handle it or if you need to move on. I don’t even think it’s the media that gets players but fan expectations. With the Red Sox or Yankees you really can’t have a bad year and it’s that pressure that some players crumble to.
In the real world, he should get about 1yr/12m in a “prove it” contract..but someone will probably sign him to a 5/90 because they’re desperate..then regret it.
This story aged well.