December 10: The Dodgers officially announced Conforto’s signing today.
December 8: The Dodgers signed a left-handed hitting outfielder represented by Scott Boras tonight. No, not that one. Shortly before the Mets signed Juan Soto to a seismic contract, the Dodgers agreed to a deal with Michael Conforto, per a report from MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Conforto’s deal with L.A. is a one-year pact worth $17MM, according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez. Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times reports the deal includes deferred money and an $8.5MM signing bonus.
Conforto, 32 in March, was selected by the Mets tenth overall in the 2014 draft and emerged as an impact bat for the club early in his career. In his first six seasons as a big leaguer, Conforto slashed an incredible .259/.358/.484 with a wRC+ of 128. Conforto made an All-Star appearance, slugged 118 homers in 632 games, and established himself as one of the best young offensive players in the NL.
Unfortunately, however, Conforto was dogged by shoulder issues early in his career that came to a head following a down 2021 season (104 wRC+). Conforto declined the Qualifying Offer and entered free agency in line for a solid payday, but required surgery during the 2021-22 lockout and ultimately did not sign a contract for the 2022 season while he recuperated.
Despite missing the entire 2022 season, Conforto inked a strong two-year, $36MM deal with the Giants, one of eight contracts by former GM Farhan Zaidi that included an opt-out. After posting a league average 99 wRC+ in his first year with the Giants, Conforto chose not to opt out of the $18MM he was owed for 2024.
Conforto improved to a 112 wRC+ in 2024, including a 137 surge over the season’s final two months. He showed a reverse platoon split, beating up on lefties more so than righties. He also managed a 133 wRC+ away from Oracle Park, a place known to suppress offense.
Over the two years Conforto has been a Giant, Oracle Park has been the second-worst park in baseball for offense, ahead of only T-Mobile Park in Seattle. Dodger Stadium, meanwhile, is right around league average as the 17th best park in the majors for offense.
While the Dodgers are surely hoping that Conforto unlocks something closer to the form he showed throughout his 20s in New York with them this year, even the 105 wRC+ he’s offered over the past three seasons would help to bolster the club’s lackluster outfield mix. Dodgers outfielders combined for a wRC+ of just 101 last year, a figure that is drastically improved by contributions from Teoscar Hernandez and Mookie Betts. Hernandez is currently a free agent, however, and while Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Dodgers remain in on him even after signing Conforto, there’s no guarantee that he’ll be in a Dodgers uniform in 2025. With Betts ticketed for an infield role next season, that left the Dodgers with a projected outfield of Tommy Edman, James Outman, and Andy Pages for next season. Pages’s 100 wRC+ led that trio in 2024, and even a relatively mediocre season for Conforto would be a massive upgrade over Outman’s ghastly 54 wRC+ in 53 games last year.
With the addition of Conforto, RosterResource projects the Dodgers for a $326MM payroll in 2025 that perfectly matches their 2024 payroll, though that projection does not factor in deferred money. Regardless, that’s not expected to prevent president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and his front office from spending this winter. Every indication has been that the Dodgers are willing and able to increase their payroll well beyond last year’s figure in order to land the right players, which is surely a relief for fans given the number of holes that remain on the roster. The Dodgers could use additional bullpen help even after reuniting with Blake Treinen earlier this evening, would benefit from either re-signing Hernandez or adding another bat to their lineup, and at minimum they appear likely to reunite with Clayton Kershaw to bolster their rotation even after landing Blake Snell last month.
WTF???
Here we go again.
Have a player your fond of on your team?
Don’t worry the Dodgers will sign him.
Remember, there is only one team in MLB that matters.
Our teams are all playing for second.
Conforto is not one for fans of other teams to cry over. Every team could have easily afforded him.
Not the Padres at that rate.
As a Giant fan who has watched him play in SF for two years I’m happy to see him play for the Dodgers. Conforto’s best days are behind him. But I wish him well.
Let them overpay for a player in my view who isn’t worth half of the cost when counting the tax bill.
@pete
I appreciate your optimism, because while I tend to agree, since it’s the Dodgers, I fully expect him to become Teoscar 2.0.
The Padres can afford him but they dont want to pay massive luxury taxes.
I’m thinking more David Peralta Dodgers 2.0. Teoscar has had a lot more success in his career previously before signing with the Dodgers than Conforto.
Very true. This is such a solid, under the radar signing that I think will work out very well for Conforto and the LAD. Watch, he’ll be Teoscar 2.0 for the Dodgers next year. He won’t have the end of the Year type of #’s that Hernandez had, but I think Conforto will play a major role for the LAD this season.
Now, go look at his numbers away from At&T Park. His splits are huge.
How many world titles have the dodgers won in your lifetime?
My lifetime? Seven. But I didn’t become a baseball (and Dodger) fan until 1968.
eight
Eight!
Giants fans had moved on from him. Nice guy, but definitely didn’t wamt him back.
Towinagain:
What are you talking about? Conforto is not any good.
Jason Heyward and Miguel Rojas weren’t any good either. Then they joined the Dodgers and were good.
El Kabong:
It has nothing to do with that. The injuries have just changed him as a player. His ceiling just isn’t as high as it used to be.
Well, if you don’t sign Soto, I guess this is the next best LH hitter./s
Miken311:
We’ll see. The Dodgers don’t sign players just for the sake of signing them. True, that sounds arrogant. But they have a recent history of “fixing” guys, going back to Justin Turner and Max Muncy.
El Kabong:
The Dodgers are a great organization, but let’s not make it now that every player they sign will be great because they’re signing with the Dodgers. He’ll probably do about what he’s done the last couple years. Maybe he’ll be a little better. Maybe he’ll be worse. Let’s not act like there’s a secret elixir though once he becomes a Dodger lol
Mikeen31:
Conforto doesn’t have to be super productive. He just needs to produce in a way that helps the Dodgers pursue their goal. The GIants needed Conforto to do things that he may not be capable of, but the Dodgers will have different expectations.
El Kabong. We can only pray the Dodgers work some magic. $17m seems awful steep though. I hope $16 million is deferred over the next 100 years.
One productive year for the Dodgers, then off somewhere else on an ill-conceived multi-year deal. He’ll be like a hitting version of Tyler Anderson.
For $17M? I think not.
His median isn’t as high as it used to be, either.
Fairly sure a bunch of players have signed elsewhere but you do you.
Funny how things went from “Mickey Mouse Ring” to “oh no, Dodgers are signing everyone and it’s unfair”.
Well, to the credit of those same fans, they have been saying that the Dodgers signing everyone wasn’t very fair even before their most recent world series win.
I mean, I don’t really care what a team does as long as they are following the rules, but it is getting a tad bit ridiculous at this point..lol
I’ve envied how the Dodgers operate now for awhile. It isn’t SOLELY the fact they are able to sign whichever free agents they want and seemingly as many as they want. It is also how well they’ve been able to manage and run their farm system over the past decade or so.
The Dodgers ability to acquire talent through the draft and through international free agency has been extremely underrated. Not only do a seemingly much larger percentage of their prospects make it to the big league level, but they’ve also done a great job using their farm system to acquire even more talent whenever they need a hole patched mid-season.
This combined with their never-ending supply of absurd money is why I’m totally jealous of the Dodgers and their fans. I don’t care in the least bit, I will gladly shout it out from the rooftops..lol
The Braves have their new park and the surrounding Battery just absolutely raking in profits, yet the Braves will likely lose another one of the faces of their franchise again this year in Max Fried. It wouldn’t sting quite as bad if they hadn’t just also lost two other faces of the franchise recently allowing Dansby Swanson and Freddie Freeman to sign elsewhere.
I also wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they didn’t allow some other team to steal AJ Minter away as well.
I’m just glad they’ve been able to lock up so many guys early on to long contracts, and extending them past their first deals. If not, it seems like they would have zero issues just letting their best players walk for a compensatory pick time after time, and that’s even if they don’t have a capable replacement in the building. The Braves are still searching for a long-term answer at SS, and it isn’t like true, bona-fide #1 pitchers just grow on trees. It’s really going to sting losing Max and the high level of consistency he brought to this team. Every one of his starts it seemed like you could just about put down an automatic W, if he got at least 3 runs of support. That certainty will not be easy to replicate, and especially when you’re relying on so many starters that already come with their fair share of question marks due to durability concerns. Sale staying healthy, Lopez staying healthy continuing to stretch out as a starter, Schwellenbach extending his innings out far beyond previous highs, and then you have Strider coming back from an injury as well…
Talent-wise that’s an excellent foursome, but there are a ton of questions surrounding them, and losing someone you can always count on like Max Fried certainly doesn’t help one bit.
Is there any pitcher that doesn’t have question marks? If you look for them, you will find them.
Towinagain. You are silly. I am pretty disappointed as a Dodger fan they are paying this guy $17m. He should be a few million at best.
He’s basically an average offensive player with a slightly below average glove. I’m guessing the Dodger will platoon him. Is $17MM really the going rate for average?
Can I get you some cracker with your whine? All teams have the same ability to put a piece of paper with a number on it in front of players.
Depends on the cracker. Pub cheese involved?
Towinagain – nonsense!
Agree
Just sign Teoscar already and stop messing about
Guy loves Dodgers and is loved by the fans
This is unfair. Totally bad for baseball. They’ve got Michael Grove, Michael Kopech and now Michael Conforto. They’re hording all the Michael’s.
They’re ruining the game. Spread the Michael’s around!
Soto is Spanish for Michael.
They’d sign Gene Michael and George Michael if both were alive.
The Dodgers had Gene Michael. They acquired him and Bob Bailey in a trade that sent Maury Wills to the Pirates. For those who claim the old days were better, Michael was the starting SS for the New York Yankees for four years. Terrible player best known as the master of the hidden-ball trick. Of course, he later redeemed himself by becoming an outstanding baseball executive.
Congratulations Mets! Juan Soto is a Met.
Conforto > Soto
No, but one year of Conforto might average out better than 13 years of Soto for a bazillion dollars.
True if you are sorting alphabetically.
Honestly would I rather have this contract or that contract……this one.
@jhonny
this is a joke right?
It’s a typo. I believe he meant Comforto <3 Soto.
Conforto is a first-ballot Hall of Famer imo.
@jhonny
I agree
Does Conforto have any kind of no trade clause in this agreement?
Unexpected! Hope Teoscar is still on the table
Yeah I don’t understand how conforto fits on the dodgers
@sad
He’ll play right field.
Teo can still return to play in left.
Conforto fits anywhere pretty much. How many teams have 4 outfielders and a dh better than him.
Pages and Outman aren’t quite cooked yet and Mookie apparently is going back to the infield for some strange reason. a year of Conforto makes perfect sense w Teo and Edman.
The strange reason Betts is going back to the infield is to save his legs. This really shouldn’t be news anymore.
yeah middle infielders use their legs far less than a guy standing in the outfield the majority of the time. perfect sense.
You seemed to not know the reason why, and believe it or not, the reason is the infield doesn’t require the long runs. This has been a subject of discussion over the past couple of years. Mookie has a small frame and really has to hump it out there to catch up to balls, and he does. It seems the Dodgers don’t see this as sustainable.
Huh?
Haha. Everyone knows short people can’t play OF. Lol
@ Gabeltch; FO was saying they wanted a left handed outfield bat to replace the absence of Jason Heyward.
Hopefully now they’ll resign Teo!
Or, sign Santander.
16 years/$1.2B
With the 1.1 being deferred until 2287
To be fair $1.1 billion will be worth like $60 by then.
Insert puking emoji here.
1 year/$17M $14M signing bonus, $2.9M salary for the year and $100k deferred over 30 years.
In case s***(what insurance should be called)
after he retires if anything unfortunate happens unexpectedly payments are made to his next to kin. Whether it’s his nids or any siblings he has and it stretched out over 65 years.
That’s what Chris Rock called it, “in case s*** happens.”
He also said “now if s*** don’t happen, shouldn’t I get my money back?”
Exactly. He’s not wrong.
Probably 15 million deferred for 15 years.
My favorite snippet here. “…Roster Resource projects the Dodgers for a $326MM payroll that perfectly matches their 2024 payroll, though that projection does not include deferred money.
Heck, if I were new to following MLB, my take here would be that this must be how all teams can afford to manage payroll. Chortle chortle, cackle cackle, chuckle chuckle.
Yeah, I’m sure Robby the robot had his PR team write that one in a press release.
Overpay, but Conforto is going to have a big year in the lineup.
bwmiller79 — What are you smoking? Have you watched Conforto the last two years? This signing hardly registers an uptick.
Going to have a lot of opportunities to drive in runs, going to get the ABs, Dodgers have no depth. If he is healthy, he could have a Santanderesque resurgence. I wouldn’t count on the power numbers quite being in line but 25 HRs / 100 RBIs isnt out of the question.
@bwmiller
And thus–in the event that he gets to 25/100–this would be a STEAL, 10 months from now…..
Conforto is a good hitter, another year removed from the injury. He lost an entire season. He should at his best next year.
Had a 133 wRC+ away from SF last season (as opposed to a home 83 wRC+), and led all NL outfielders in road home runs (with 17). And had some terrible ball-in-play luck (.327 wOBA versus .352 expected wOBA).
Basically, he profiles very similarly to 2023 Seattle Mariner……Teoscar Hernandez.
When’s the last time he finished with 25 HR and 100 RBI? Sure wasn’t the last few years. He’ll have a couple hot weeks, then struggle for multiple weeks, get hurt for multiple weeks, take multiple weeks before available again and strikeout a ton. When he actually plays. Seems to be a really good teammate though.
“If he is healthy…
Never hedge your prediction.
And the Yankees… do nothing.
If they sign Soto…all will be forgiven.
Did you want them to sign Conforto??? Lol, be patient. The hottest of irons is currently on the fire. I don’t mind wait9ling on e everything else.
And lost Soto….
The Yankees are better off now to be rid of Juan Soto. Now they can fill holes at 1B 2B 3B and CF.
As a Giants fan, I’m bracing for a resurgent Conforto hitting 30 bombs in the Dodgers 7th spot in the lineup.
But Giants dooming aside, Conforto seemed like a good dude. I wish he wasn’t a Dodger, but he’ll get a chance to go deep in the playoffs and he’ll have little pressure to produce while surrounded by all those stars. Seems like a great spot for him.
Uh, whoops, I meant to say Boo! Hiss! Turncoat! Dodger bad! Giant good!
We Mets fans feel the same…and more so!
No we don’t. Speak for yourself.
The guy had a really good stint with the Mets. A career .826 OPS with the Mets deserves a little bit of respect but you probably don’t know how to do that.
Without knowing much about their pipeline, Santander would look good in SF. I’d rather see that than him replacing Soto in the Bronx, which I think might just have a high likelihood of occurring unfortunately.
ba$eba: What difference does it make for you where Santander signs?
A lot. I don’t want him in the division
Come on Braves… DO SOMETHING!!!!! Unless the financials are crazy on this (currently not posted as I post this), we need a LF and left handed bat and MC has a solid OBP with a little pop. He’s perfect for what the Braves need and I assume his contract isn’t outrageous unless the dodgers just went crazy here…
Think he was projected to get like 2 years at $18 mil, so 1 year $17 mil sounds like a overpay but I’m sure there is a deferred portion and signing bonus that makes this present day value reasonable … I guess….
The braves budget might be tighter than man fans expect, especially if Anthopoulos is trying to reset the competitive balance tax number. $17 million for just one season of Conforto was surely far more than they felt comfortable paying.
O hope the Conforto signing didn’t trigger panic. The Winter Meeting start today. I thought the Braves had a great offseason last year. They just had too many key injuries at the wrong time.
Thank goodness we’re still in on Teo!!! But YES!! I really like Conforto and have for a while.
Why?
Perplexed by this move: Conforto has never impressed me, seems very ordinary. Why not just stick with Pages and Outman then? Weird move.
Many fans thought the Dodgers signing Teoscar Hernandez after a so-so year in Seattle was weird.
1 year 17m is nothing for LA. If he does what he did as a Giant it will be worth it. I think he can do better.
It’s not about acquiring a player. It’s about the team’s plan for the player once he’s on board. The Dodgers do an excellent job scouting at all levels. Maybe they’ve seen something they feel they can help correct in Conforto’s swing. He’ll probably be working out at Chavez Ravine with some of his new teammates before Christmas.
@El Kabong
Had a 133 wRC+ away from SF last season (as opposed to a home 83 wRC+), and led all NL outfielders in road home runs (with 17). And had some terrible ball-in-play luck (.327 wOBA versus .352 expected wOBA).
Basically, he profiles very similarly to 2023 Seattle Mariner……Teoscar Hernandez.
@CommentsSectionCommenter
Thanks for providing those numbers. We can be sure the Dodgers are aware of that. While I appreciate what Teoscar Hernandez contributed to the Dodgers, I don’t feel it necessarily merits a multi-year deal. It’s similar to how I think about Jack Flaherty; thanks for your help in 2024, and best of luck in your future endeavors.
Who bid $16MM? I’m banking on no one
@Ignorant
Outman is a AAAA player. I can’t ever see him as anything more than an injury call-up.
Pages could easily stick as a fourth outfielder.
This gives LA options in RF, and no one loves himself optionality quite like Andrew Friedman….
@Ignorant
(Or…Pages/Outman might not be Dodgers much longer….???)
Dalton Rushing is also in the 2025 OF mix.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see some combination of outfielders and young pitchers dealt. And it will be a deal no one anticipated. Friedman’s pretty good at this hot stove thing.
understand the sentiment. LA might be building a trade package which includes Pages or Outman. Or it could just be a weird move, like you said
The Dodgers new Jason Heyward
This smells of Farhan Zaidi.
Yeah it’s interesting that the dodgers are trying to sign all the Giants free agents
Bingo! Exactly what Friedman and Gomes have been saying lately. They were looking for a left handed outfield bat to replace Heyward’s.
Holy overpay
they are playing with house money this season, lux tax be damned, and this is only a one-year deal
Nah
Good signing as utility outfielder, Teoscar getting inked next for LA!
As of right now Michael Conforto is a starting outfielder in LA and Boston is trying hard for Teoscar
Teo is going to sign for whomever offers the most money. He’s gone like a pecan as they say in the south.
What does conforto do to get this money?
looks like a trade is coming….
That’s what I was thinking. Outman, Lux & Cartaya seem ripe for trading.
He’ll be lucky to get 150-200 ABs on that team.
Even the Dodgers don’t pay someone 17m tor 200 or less abs.
Will get as many abs as health allows. Plenty of rest days. Dodgers are worried about October. 400 at least.
metsin4: That’s true.
17 million for a backup outfielder
As of right now he’s a starter and Boston is trying hard for Teo
conforto had some good yrs for the metsies
hit 3 postseason hrs for the pennant winning 2015 squad
he hit 20 in the reg season in 2024, so he still got some pop
best of luck to him
They might be trading Pages and Outman to the Sox for Crochet.
Why on earth would dodgers trade for crochet. Roki will be signed in 2 weeks and they already have 10 starters.
@Led
Why would the Dodgers trade for Crochet, if he could be had for the right price?
Because he’s got a frontline-ace ceiling, and two years of control on his way there. And because of innings-limits concerns, he’s the perfect fit for a six-man rotation.
(And because it would be hilarious to watch/read, LA adding him to a Snell/Sasaki double would mean a full-scale “Baseball is broken” meltdown that would bring about an internet singularity.)
And if you haven’t learned by now that the Dodgers can never have too much pitching, then I don’t know what to tell you…..
I guess you are right. If the Sox take two backup outfielders for him, they probably make the trade.
That’s because they have a habit of breaking their pitchers. Sign with the Dodgers, spend time on the IL.
Not as crazy as it admittedly seems at first glance. Who knows what Glasnow, Gonsolin & Ohtani will be like, or Kersh for that matter. I think they’ve already acknowledged that Shohei won’t be ready to pitch in April. Obviously it’d be absurd to have healthy:
Snell
Yamamoto
Crochet
Glasnow
Ohtani
Sasaki
Gonsolin
May
Kershaw
…but with six spots to fill & lots of guys returning from injuries it makes sense. And if they have too many healthy pitchers, they can trade them to fill other needs.
They’ve got enough SP. Maybe for Williams or Pressly
There goes another great fit for Pirates, Ben Cherington. How about doing your job this winter, unlike last winter, and the winter before that, and the winter before that…
Yeah, I thought Conforto was an obvious Pirates target.
20m a fit for pirates I don’t think so
Lifelong Dodgers fan and the only thing I have to say to this is WTF?
Why?
Exactly my sentiments.
No need to worry. Dodger fans shouldn’t have to worry in free agency most of the FA signings Friedman has made have been like on the money/ striking gold. I have faith in the front office.
Didn’t see this coming at all…..they really have too many left-handed batters
He is one of the worst players in the clutch that I’ve ever seen. His stats were always inflated during blowouts. He is a rally killer
@ LGM
The Mets had rallies then?
@Bivouac-Sal Not many
Certainly did that the past 2 years in SF.
I smell a winter meeting trade of one of there young outfielders being the reason for signing him
AAA depth?
Curious
Hopefully this is the end of Taylor
Sucks to acknowledge it because he was great, but you’re right. He just isn’t competitive anymore.
Too bad Friedman is running LAD. They sure could use all of you who know better.
Good for Conforto. I think it’s a bit of an overpay. But if they offer it then it isn’t.
$800 Million for Soto? Omfg let the Mets sign him! Move on Yankees!
How much of his contract was defered?Will they be able to afford any other upgrades?
Second Boras client in a row to sign with dodgers
Next one went to Mets
Outbid the competition by $7MM
I’m not the type to be a dodger hater, they do what they do, but this could easily be what happened, they have endless money so nobody else will get the person they want because the dodgers can and will overpay by a large amount. And I don’t want anybody to come for me and say oh well any team can do that, sure they can, but no one except the dodgers would have probably ever offered him that much money over the course of one year. He was predicted for like 2-18 and teams probably stayed around that target area until the dodgers came around and was like nope here’s an extra 5-7 million sign right now!
Nah. The dodgers lost in the Soto bidding. Now they’ll have to pivot to Willy Adame- oh wait a second…
@Giant
The Giants overpaid and over-year’d to get Adames to come–because they have to these days.
But good for them, because they got their guy before his price tag shot up, post-Soto-signing.
(But that K rate and that glove those last few years….? Yikes.)
We all know that if Adames waited a week he could have gotten 200+ mil from the dodgers. Apparently he wanted to play for the Giants.
I got another prediction wrong.
Love this! Farhan and now Conforto! The demise of the Dodger$ has officially begun.
Yep. And adding two-time CYA winner Snell can surely only speed up the process. Maybe if they get Sasaki they’ll start to suck even faster! Glory days for Pads/Snakes/Jints are here!
Interesting how they’re trying to gobble up all of SF’s garbage.
@Giant
“…all of SF’s garbage.”
By signing the highest-upside pitcher (other than Sasaki) in free agency to an early deal–a pitcher better than any on the Giants roster, and a guy who was–from July onward, having finally flushed the late-signing crap from his system–the most unhittable pitcher in the sport?
And an outfielder who last year had a 133 wRC+ away from that garbage hitters’ park by the Bay, and who led all NL outfielders in road home runs (with 17)? You mean that guy the Dodgers just paid a pittance to be a platoon bat in RF?
Have you seen your favorite team’s roster, Will? Outside of Chapman and Adames and a couple arms, it’s a damn landfill, champ…..
Enjoy another 4th-place finish in the West….
Unfortunately, Dodgers will have to live with the whole season of Snell, not just the half he shows up for. If they get a typical year, and not his Cy Young year, it will be quite the over pay. Same with Conforto. You won’t just be getting his away games. I’m sure his numbers will look fine because they will platoon him more, but why pay him more to play less?
@Comments… Yeah I talked about a guy who takes himself out of games and doesn’t pitch when he’s under contract to, if he ‘doesn’t feel like it’. A cupcake. Your new starting RF, we were ready to see him go. I don’t have anything against Conforto as a person or player, I think he’s a good guy. But, in the sense that we were all VERY ready to see him walk, he became our garbage, as in expendable. We have better options, like All Star Heliot Ramos, who hasn’t played a full season yet and a whole stable of outfield prospects. Conforto was blocking progress. I wish him well though.
As for you, I hope you get a grip on your blood pressure. It’s not healthy to let it go too high.
This seems like an unnecessary overpay. Not sure why this guy was signed now, and for so much.
@Streaking
Serious question (for you and others):
At what point does the Dodgers’ FO get the benefit of the doubt…?
He will get a bump from moving home parks but the dodgers make plenty of mistakes. It’s just easy to mask with that payroll. Dodgers fans are becoming insufferable.
sorry Led. It’s the blinding reflection from the championship trophy making us all crazy.
Because other teams wanted him so the dodgers came in and said here’s an extra 5-7 million over what anyone else is offering you sign now!
I’m sure you wrote this before the big news.. but seems like a bargain in perspective of 1/3 a Soto year.
Wow. Not a bad fit. But why 17 million?
Dodgers are going to have to dump and/or trade some players off the 40 man. I think they are at 38 right now.
@Echopark
There’s almost certainly going to be a trade coming. Lux no longer fits on this roster, and he/Pages-Outman/Knack-or-comparable is the foundation of a deal for a solo upgrade somewhere….
Lux might be traded, though I can see him staying with the expectation that he’ll be better the second year after the surgery. Pitchers like Knack, Casperius, Wrobleski, and Grove might have a market. While they aren’t established starting pitchers, they have enough potential and team control to perhaps crack the rotations of smaller-market clubs.
Ryan Pepiot has been a good pickup for the Rays. Maybe the Dodgers and Rays will be trade partners again. Say, Brandon Lowe and/or Pete Fairbanks, for a low-salary, prospect-heavy package that can help the Rays reasonably soon.
@EL K
The thing with Lux, though, is that with Mookie moving to 2B, Lux simply doesn’t have a spot on this roster. He’s a platoon bat without any defensive versatility, and while he’d be a solid 2B for lots of teams, there’s just no more room at the inn in LA…..
As of now Mookie is slated for SS, not 2B
Precursor to a trade.
I just don’t understand Friedman sometimes.
So, no Teoscar Hernandez?
96 career abs in Dodger Stadium. 3 hrs and .177 ba. Numbers may be different with the Dodger supporting cast. But how much?
Why do you guys keep posting stadium splits? He’s not facing Dodger pitching anymore so this is mostly irrelevant.
Because Dodger fans post his stadium splits as a Giant.
Good catch cr. He’s signed for way too much.
Very interesting. I wonder if this signals them moving on from Soto or Teo…not that Conforto replaces those, but looking at roster construction they could get another OF or stand pat or trade one of Outman/Pages.
One question answered, yikes.
Now Boston is going hard for Teoscar, so there you go. Both questions answered
Soto just went to the Mets for $765 million. So the Dodgers went with their backup. lol
im confused. ehhh type of player. 17 million?
Dodgers don’t care. They are not limited by money like everyone else.
AJ Pollock redux
Only this time from the left side
Please not in lieu of Teo! Pay Teo, he should stay here!
That would appear to torpedo their ability to resign TeOscar
And Max Fried
Streaky hitter, rally buster, warning track power & GIDP specialist. Dodgers just took a step backwards, YAY !
17 mil seems like a lot for him
Why so much….doesn’t feel like a dodgers discount.
Name one Dodger signed to a discount?
Ohtani
For $70 milly a year you better be MVP
Within the past 10 years:
Justin Turner
Kenley Jansen
Max Muncy
Chris Taylor
I believe all had better offers from at least one team during free agency but chose to stay with LAD.
lol the Mets just signed Soto to the largest contract in sports history and not deferring any of the money and the Dodgers out here signing old Mets castoffs..
And deferring the money!
And who are the World Champions again who beat both NY teams?
Impressive they now have 1 legitimate (non asterisk) championship in 40 years with by far the highest payroll in baseball over the last decade…
@Biggie
Come on, dude. If this is STILL what it takes to get your simply brain to bed, might I suggest melatonin…? It works for my little kids….
More likely Dalton Rushing than James Outman as one of the projected outfielders for next year.
Conforto is a liability in the OF; dodgers are all about positional flexibility and situational interchangability
Another reason guys go to the Dodgers, especially on short term deals, is so they can rebuild their value on a stacked roster. He’s gonna get meatballs because pitchers are using their best stuff against Ohtani/Freeman/Betts. And guess what, it usually works!
Meatballs and buscetti
Conforto’s 17 road homers was the most for any NL outfielder in 2023.
Correction, most for 2024.
Road homers sounds a little pervy to me for some reason. Conforto getting a lot of homers out on the road huh?
Wasn’t Wade Boggs a little Pervy?
Pervy? Seems to me the only one here with a dirty mind is you
I think I made that clear to every yes. Now how about giving me a road homers?
I’m 16, Chris Hanson’s team is at your door.
Pages + Conforto = One very good starter. Still need Teo or Mookie stays in right another year.
they will
Boston is trying hard for Teoscar now, so they might not
Conforto can’t and won’t stay healthy.
How much you defer of a 17M contract and 8M signing bonus?
This is what Giant fans call a twofer!
Guys would rather take the money and be the fifth OF than play for longer term elsewhere.
Nope, this won’t be a problem at all.
Of course it has deferred money. Maybe it’s time for the league to reconsider how this is handled in regards to the luxury tax.
It did. It used to count deferred money, then it reconsidered and decided to only assess present-day value.
Which is exactly what it shouldn’t be. $17m should count 100% next season no matter how and when it is paid, not at present value and then down the road.
@AM21
Aside from suggesting a Google search for the vast breadth of reporting on this very specific subject, I would also ask:
Why?
Because it’s manipulating the system. But if you’re all for it, God bless ya.
@AM21
So now I’ll ask:
How is a team “manipulating the system” by employing a collectively bargained contract structure available to and employed by all 30 teams…?
And yes, I’m all for teams that have ownership groups who are as creative and forward-thinking as they are willing to spend on the on-field product.
I take it you’re….not?
All things being equal, yes. But all things are not equal, so it gives teams who already have an advantage, more advantage.
Not at all. It’s one thing to not have a hard cap and instead implement a luxury tax system, but it’s quite another to allow the filthy rich teams to exploit that same system. To not see the difference is pretty ignorant.
Back up plan in case the bidding for Teoscar gets too high.
Do they need him?
I’m a little confused on the deffered money stuff.
So what happens when they have to pay all that money?
cuz they’re going to have to pay a lot.
Is it the money? Or just being decisive that makes them good?
Decide what you are going to do, then do it.
It does sound like the Dodgers are just covering themselves, with Hernandez returning as of now is on shaky ground. Especially with Soto going to the Mets, Hernandez may find the Yankee’s dollars more to his liking. Conforto is a nothing signing in Dodger world a lot like when Heyward was signed and Mookie going back to the infield.
Dodgers are looking pretty good this offseason. Should be a fairly competitive team this year.
They could just trade for Seiya Suzuki and Luis Robert Jr.
I would trade Pages and Lux among other prospects to land those two
Play Edman and Betts up the middle, Muncy 3B, Freeman 1B, Smith C, Ohtani DH
Conforto LF, Roberts Jr. CF, Seiya RF, Outman OF
If they don’t have 6 years of control, why would the White Sox want them?
Conforto’s best year was 2019 where he had 33 hr/92 rbi/257 ba, which also corresponds with Pete Alonso’s record rookie season.
Since that point he been below average ever since…
And yes, did have the injury, but it was working out on his own when he was a FA.
According to OPS+ he’s been average or better in every season but 2016 and his best seasons were 2017 and 2020.
2020 is an anomaly, 54 games with a 322 av. (Even Dominic Smith had a 316 av in 2020 and where is he now…)
career average is 251 with 2 exception with raise his career average …
otherwise he’s really 236 hitter the past 3 years and will average about 110 – 140 SO per year
My correction to your statement still stands.
I’d take Winker over him for a lot less.
Not if the Dodgers make the offer first! Then he’d be more!
“Meanwhile” has to START the sentence. It’s not supposed to come in the middle, separated by commas.