The San Francisco Giants have agreed to a two-year deal with free-agent outfielder Michael Conforto worth $36 million that contains an opt-out clause after the first season, CBS Sports HQ's Jim Bowden confirmed.
Conforto, 29 years old, did not play last season after suffering a shoulder injury during a spring workout. In seven prior seasons, spent entirely with the New York Mets, he batted .255/.356/.468 (124 OPS+) and an average of 28 home runs and 3.4 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball-Reference's calculations. He even made the All-Star team during the 2017 season. Conforto most recently had a disappointing 2021, posting a 100 OPS+ in what was his walk year. He declined the Mets' qualifying offer, then found himself still on the free agent market, weighed down by draft-pick compensation requirements, until suffering his injury.
Nevertheless, Conforto was ranked by CBS Sports as the 34th-best free agent available this offseason. Here's what we wrote at the time:
Conforto didn't play last season after suffering a shoulder injury during a workout. His disappointing walk year left him ranked in the 20s on our top 50 list last winter, and it seems only fair to drop him a bit further this year. That said, his track record should still enable him to land a big-league contract with an eye on being someone's starting corner outfielder.
It's worth noting that Conforto is represented by Scott Boras, who also serves as the agent for Carlos Correa. The Giants, of course, had their $350 million agreement with Correa fall apart this week over differing views on his physical. Correa then agreed to a $315 million deal with the Mets. Both sides, the Giants and Boras, appeared to have treated that mess as just business.
Conforto is the third outfielder the Giants have added or retained this winter, joining Joc Pederson (who had a breakout season with San Francisco last year) and Mitch Haniger (formerly of the Seattle Mariners).