Breaking: Braves Interested in Signing Former All-Star to…
The Atlanta Braves should make at least one big free agent signing this offseason. But it also takes calculated, smaller deals to build a championship caliber roster.
One outfielder that could fall into that latter category for the Braves is veteran Michael Conforto. CBS Sports’ R.J. Anderson argued Monday that the Braves are a potential landing spot for Conforto.
“Conforto had his most productive season since 2020, clearing the 50 extra base-hit threshold despite playing in a ballpark that greatly suppressed his home-run total,” Anderson wrote. “To wit, Statcast’s calculations suggest that San Francisco was the single worst park for him from a home-run perspective. Things can only get better.
“Whichever team signs Conforto should expect him to hit righties well; they should not expect him to hit lefties, or to play a stellar corner outfield.”
Conforto played the first seven seasons of his MLB career with the New York Mets. In 2017, he made the National League All-Star team, hitting .279 with a .939 OPS, 27 home runs, 68 RBI and 72 runs in 373 at-bats.
The past two seasons, Conforto played for the San Francisco Giants. Despite his home games taking place in a very hitter-friendly ballpark, he slashed .237/.309/.450 with 20 home runs in 130 games during 2024.
Conforto is an interesting potential target for the Braves. Atlanta traded outfielder Jorge Soler to the Los Angeles Angels on Oct. 31. With Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos admitting that right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. will not be ready for 2025 Opening Day, the team should be in the outfield market this offseason.
The problem is Conforto might be too similar to Soler. Conforto is probably best suited for at-bats as a designated hitter because of his subpar defense.
The Braves already have Marcell Ozuna to play designated hitter every day. Atlanta elected to pick up Ozuna’s club option for the 2025 season.
So while the Braves could use outfield insurance, and Conforto’s bat should be appealing for Atlanta, he might not be the ideal fit.
The other issue with Soler, though, was his $15 million paycheck coming in 2025. If the Braves could sign Conforto for considerably less, then maybe they won’t mind that he isn’t the best defensive outfielder.
Spotrac projected Conforto to be worth $4.7 million on the open market this offseason.
In addition to the Braves, Anderson called the Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros potential landing spots for Conforto.
