Michael Conforto was the most notable unsigned free agent of this past offseason. The outfielder rejected a qualifying offer from the Mets and didn’t find a deal to his liking before the league locked out the players in early December. The following month, he injured his right shoulder during training and remains unsigned.
Conforto underwent surgery last month, and reports at the time suggested the procedure would end his 2022 season before it began. That may not actually be the case, as his agent Scott Boras now tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post it’s not out of the question Conforto could make it back to the majors by September. “There is a possibility the swinging modality can be back to normal at a much earlier date than the throwing aspect,” Boras told Sherman. “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.”
Based on those comments, it seems the path back for Conforto would be as a hitter only. If he’s still unable to throw by September, clubs certainly aren’t going to plug him back into right field (and probably wouldn’t risk him at first base either). Yet there’s apparently at least some chance he makes a late-season return as a designated hitter and/or bench bat, which hadn’t previously appeared possible.
Even if Conforto’s shoulder progresses well enough he could make it back to the diamond, he’d of course need to find a contract offer to his liking. Teams aren’t going to commit the kind of multi-year deal he’d been looking for entering the offseason, and Conforto and Boras may eventually decide it’s better for the 29-year-old to continue rehabbing on his own and look for a new team next year.
That said, clubs figure to keep an eye on Conforto’s progress over the next few months. While he posted only marginally above-average offensive numbers last season, he hit at a .261/.365/.478 level between 2018-20. Something approaching that production would be a boon to virtually every lineup, and a contending club looking for a bit more left-handed punch could have interest in a late-season pact if he’s healthy. That kind of arrangement, meanwhile, could allow Conforto to showcase his form for a few weeks (and into a possible postseason run) while still hitting the market next winter.
In any event, a resolution won’t be coming for several months. Conforto’s clearly not near an imminent return to game shape, and he’ll have to continue working on his own for at least the next two months. Any team would forfeit an amateur draft choice were they to sign Conforto now because he rejected the Mets’ QO. Certainly, no team is going to do that for a player with such an uncertain health status. Pick forfeiture will no longer apply once the draft concludes on July 19, however, so there’d be no penalty (aside from whatever guarantee he receives) for a team to add him after that point. The Mets won’t receive any compensation if he signs a post-draft deal.
Whether Conforto will sign anywhere this year won’t be known until at least after the All-Star Break, and quite likely for a while longer. That it’s even possible after news of his shoulder surgery makes for a surprising development, though, one that’ll be worth monitoring later in the season.
Curly Was The Smart Stooge
Of course not! What an oops I F***** up statement!
Cincyfan85
Not accepting the qualifying offer has been such a costly mistake for him. He’s earned just under $24m in his career so $18.4m was a huge chunk of change to miss. I think he’ll be lucky to get 1 year $15m next year or some sort of incentive heavy contract.
FSF
Wouldn’t not accepting the $100M+ extension be even a greater mistake?
rct
I would think it’s more like 1 year, $10 million. He was not good in 2021 and is coming off a major injury. Plus, whoever signs him knows he’s probably just a one year rental.
padam
I’m not even certain he gets $10M at this point. Whatever he did to his arm is going to be a bargaining chip for teams who negotiate with him, stating that he may strictly be a DH and not chance signing him to anything more until proof that his arm is sound and play tested.
48-team MLB
The 1921-1922 New York Giants remain the only team to ever defeat the Yankees in the World Series two years in a row.
toycannon
Uh, okay.
FSF
I’ll be going on vacation next week.
BigFootsFart
You’re the worst commenter on here
Astros Hot Takes
No. There is another.
tstats
We haven’t heard from him in a long time tho
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Thirteen days too late. May the 4th be with you.
48-team MLB
Just for StefanArkansas…
1903: Boston Americans (Red Sox)
1904: No World Series (boycott by New York Giants)
1905: New York Giants
1906: Chicago White Sox’
1907: Chicago Cubs
1908: Chicago Cubs
1909: Pittsburgh Pirates
1910: Philadelphia Athletics
1911: Philadelphia Athletics
1912: Boston Red Sox
1913: Philadelphia Athletics
1914: Boston Braves
1915: Boston Red Sox
1916: Boston Red Sox
1917: Chicago White Sox
1918: Boston Red Sox
1919: Cincinnati Reds
1920: Cleveland Indians
1921: New York Giants
1922: New York Giants
1923: New York Yankees
1924: Washington Senators (became Minnesota Twins in 1961)
1925: Pittsburgh Pirates
1926: St. Louis Cardinals
1927: New York Yankees
1928: New York Yankees
1929: Philadelphia Athletics
1930: Philadelphia Athletics
1931: St. Louis Cardinals
1932: New York Yankees
1933: New York Giants
1934: St. Louis Cardinals
1935: Detroit Tigers
1936: New York Yankees
1937: New York Yankees
1938: New York Yankees
1939: New York Yankees
1940: Cincinnati Reds
1941: New York Yankees
1942: St. Louis Cardinals
1943: New York Yankees
1944: St. Louis Cardinals
1945: Detroit Tigers
1946: St. Louis Cardinals
1947: New York Yankees
1948: Cleveland Indians
1949: New York Yankees
1950: New York Yankees
1951: New York Yankees
1952: New York Yankees
1953: New York Yankees
1954: New York Giants
1955: Brooklyn Dodgers
1956: New York Yankees
1957: Milwaukee Braves
1958: New York Yankees
1959: Los Angeles Dodgers
1960: Pittsburgh Pirates
1961: New York Yankees
1962: New York Yankees
1963: Los Angeles Dodgers
1964: St. Louis Cardinals
1965: Los Angeles Dodgers
1966: Baltimore Orioles
1967: St. Louis Cardinals
1968: Detroit Tigers
1969: New York Mets
1970: Baltimore Orioles
1971: Pittsburgh Pirates
1972: Oakland Athletics
1973: Oakland Athletics
1974: Oakland Athletics
1975: Cincinnati Reds
1976: Cincinnati Reds
1977: New York Yankees
1978: New York Yankees
1979: Pittsburgh Pirates
1980: Philadelphia Phillies
1981: Los Angeles Dodgers (FAKE)
1982: St. Louis Cardinals
1983: Baltimore Orioles
1984: Detroit Tigers
1985: Kansas City Royals
1986: New York Mets
1987: Minnesota Twins
1988: Los Angeles Dodgers
1989: Oakland Athletics
1990: Cincinnati Reds
1991: Minnesota Twins
1992: Toronto Blue Jays
1993: Toronto Blue Jays
1994: No World Series (player strike)
1995: Atlanta Braves
1996: New York Yankees
1997: Florida Marlins
1998: New York Yankees
1999: New York Yankees
2000: New York Yankees
2001: Arizona Diamondbacks
2002: Anaheim Angels
2003: Florida Marlins
2004: Boston Red Sox
2005: Chicago White Sox
2006: St. Louis Cardinals
2007: Boston Red Sox
2008: Philadelphia Phillies
2009: New York Yankees
2010: San Francisco Giants
2011: St. Louis Cardinals
2012: San Francisco Giants
2013: Boston Red Sox
2014: San Francisco Giants
2015: Kansas City Royals
2016: Chicago Cubs
2017: Houston Astros (tainted)
2018: Boston Red Sox
2019: Washington Nationals
2020: Los Angeles Dodgers (FAKE)
2021: Atlanta Braves
swinging wood
With 48 teams, every WS win would be “fake” since the talent would be so diluted.
tstats
Why would the 81 WS be fake for the dodgers?
48-team MLB
@tstats
It’s fake because of the split-season format. The Cardinals and Reds had the best overall records in their respective divisions but neither qualified for the postseason. That’s a joke.
DarkSide830
the Black Sox WS is fake IMO.
Dogersfan09
Cry
GarryHarris
I’ll add that the original “Murderers Row” was the name given to the pre Babe Ruth 1919 Yankees IF: 1B Wally Pipp, 2B Del Pratt, SS Roger Peckinpaugh and 3B Frank Baker.
alwaysgo4two
Rule #1. When Boros speaks, it’s going to benefit Boros, not his client.
Curly Was The Smart Stooge
It affects Boras as well
rct
OroBoras: a Scott Boras eating its tail.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Boras usually does very well for his clients, much more often than not.
But Boras does significantly harm the game by making tone-deaf public comments.
You Can Put It In The Books
He will NOT make it back this year.
jbigz12
Does it even make sense for him to do so?
He can only hit & it’d be such a ridiculously small sample w/ no real ramp up period.
It just seems like there’d be a lot more downside to try that.
MLB Top 100 Commenter
Agree, unless a team wants to offer multiple years. I think Conforto is probably worth around three years (2023-2025) and $36 million, with just a bag o’ marshmellows as payment for 2022.
377194
Michael, get a new agent. You screwed up royally.
Lefty_Orioles_Fan
I will give Conforto personally Five bucks
angt222
Possible considering the universal DH.
GarryHarris
The goal is to get some team to “buy high” on the rehabbing player. Once signed and rehabbed at the expense of some team while contributing nothing to the team, the player will opt out and go for the big pay day again.
Buckner
Like the Twins gave Michael Pineda. He received a two year contract while his arm was still in a sling after Tommy John surgery.
konalawrence
#JodyReed
thickiedon
What?
5TUNT1N
He might not be. But the rest of teams might.
swinging wood
I’m not ruling out a return to MLB this year, either.
LFGMets (Metsin7)
When theres a late inning rally he always strikes out. Gets hits when the team is up by 10 runs or down by 10 runs in the 7th inning or later to pad his stats. To anyone wondering, you can look up these stats on baseball reference to see just how unclutch he is when the game is within reach
mike156
That’s Boras signaling higher-revenue and potential playoff contenders to save some CBT room (and a 25 and 40 man roster spot) for his guy., If he can actually hit, some team will see a mutually beneficial deal can be made,
bobthemetfan
Would have been to his benefit to take the Mets offer, I am glad he didn’t .
Cosmo2
Yea it certainly worked out us. Imagine the explosion of agony on the interweb if he took the money and then the injury was announced? Chaos.
CalcetinesBlancos
This guy and his agent are bozos. A clinic in idiocy.
Poster formerly known as . . .
This seems to be Boras promoting the idea that a team should gamble on a player coming off an injury that’s partially rehabbed, with the hope that he’ll be back to a level of play he hasn’t shown since 2020, while putting an inflated value on those 54 games in less than half a regular season — and the “upside” would be that they’d have the inside track on a longer-term contract if he’s rejuvenated. That’s a gamble I hope my team doesn’t take.
Yankee Clipper
Yeah, kind of like the same gamble as when he was read to sign two weeks before he couldn’t throw a ball and was out for season-ending surgery?
If no team provides an offer, he will have been too injured to sign anyway….
Poster formerly known as . . .
I have to wonder what Boras thought he was going to get away with earlier in the offseason. Is any GM stupid enough to sign a contract without requiring the player to pass a physical?
In other news, how about those Yanks? First in ERA, second in OPS, and the best record at 26-9. Didn’t see that coming . . . not that I’m complaining. But it’s only May, so — cautious optimism.
foppert
That’s Boras trying to salvage something from the train wreck advice he has given the poor man.
Rsox
If a team needs a DH in September they are probably not going to be in the market for Conforto
dirkg
Exactly. Barring a major injury, any team in contention is more than likely going to have a performing DH and not looking for a banged up can’t throw OF.
solaris602
There will be plenty of able-bodied trade candidates available at the deadline for contenders to consider. If a team is making a playoff run they’re gonna want a proven commodity added to the roster, not a crap shoot. Not at any price.
prov356
Welcome to Boras Used Cars…
dirkg
He’ll ultimately try to get you to sign a 7-year lease but tell you he has the right to take back the car after 1 year if it performs well. And screw any warranty.
KamKid
It’s fairly common for pitchers to get a 2 year deal while injured, but I’m having a hard time recalling any position players who have.
A team looking ahead to next year with CBT concerns might be interested even if he’s not guaranteed to come back this year. And with a couple extra roster spots in September to play with you have some flexibility to accommodate him if he does make it back.
saluelthpops
I bet the Mets are glad they didn’t extend a qualifying offer or an extension offer for over $100 million . . . Oh, wait.
duhawk83
Apparently the Mets are now as lucky as the St. Louis Cardinals when it comes to dodging bad Contracts.
solaris602
I know Boras has to say these things, but realistically it’s time to punt the 2022 season and hope for a decent 1-year prove-it deal for next year.
kingbum
Boston needs to just can JBJ bite the bullet and give Conforto a deal. JBJ is not saving more runs than he’s costing the team in my opinion, go over the tax this year John Henry dip back below next year and sign this dude. He would definitely be on base more than JBJ.