Dodgers miss on Juan Soto, but add outfield depth by signing Michael Conforto
On the eve of MLB’s Winter Meetings, two left-handed-hitting outfielders found new homes on the free agent market.
One was the biggest name in the sport this winter, with superstar slugger Juan Soto reportedly agreeing to a staggering 15-year, $765-million contract with the New York Mets, setting a new MLB record.
The other flew under the radar everywhere but Los Angeles, with the Dodgers agreeing to a one-year, $17-million contract with veteran Michael Conforto pending a physical, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.
The Dodgers have reached a two-year, $22-million deal with Blake Treinen, a key part of their World Series-winning bullpen.
Although the Dodgers had been considered one of the finalists for Soto — they met with the four-time All-Star last month and were one of five teams believed to be engaged in his record-setting bidding — the likelihood was always that another team, especially the Mets with their billionaire owner, Steve Cohen, would blow well past anything the Dodgers were willing to spend.
So, as Soto’s Mets deal shattered Shohei Ohtani’s previous record total of $700 million (without any of the deferrals Ohtani agreed to with the Dodgers), the Dodgers shifted their focus elsewhere, landing a former All-Star and nine-year veteran in Conforto to give their thin outfield some left-handed-hitting depth.
Conforto, 31, hit .237 with a .759 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 20 homers and 66 RBIs in 130 games for the San Francisco Giants in 2024, the final year of a two-year deal in which he made $18 million last season.
A career .251 hitter with an .804 OPS, 167 homers and 520 RBIs in his career — most of which was spent with the New York Mets before his signing with the Giants two offseasons ago — Conforto is primarily a corner outfielder who has made 133 of his 861 starts in center field.
Conforto has a career .257 average and .838 OPS against right-handed pitchers and a .232 average and .705 OPS against left-handers.
Some MLB teams and their fans are complaining the Dodgers are spending too much on star free agents, but other teams should be doing the same thing.
Plate discipline has also been a strength for Conforto, who drew 84 walks in each of the 2018 and 2019 seasons for the Mets. Conforto struck out 118 times and walked 42 times in 488 plate appearances for the Giants last season.
Conforto’s contract with the Dodgers includes an $8.5-million signing bonus and some deferred money, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
What remained unclear after Sunday’s news was where it left the Dodgers’ chances of re-signing one of their best outfielders from last year, veteran slugger Teoscar Hernández.
The Conforto signing isn’t expected to take the Dodgers out of the running for Hernández, who unlike Conforto is a right-handed hitter.
Hernández has also repeatedly stated his desire to remain in Los Angeles, where he hit a career-high 33 home runs in 2024 before becoming a postseason hero in the club’s run to a World Series.
The sides have recently engaged in negotiations over a potential new deal for the two-time All-Star, who also drove in 99 runs last season while batting .272 with a .840 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
But with Soto — the only better outfielder of this year’s class — now signed, Hernández’s market could be poised to heat up, with other Soto finalists expected to refocus on Hernández in the coming days.
Retaining Hernández still figures to be a key objective for the rest of the Dodgers’ offseason. With Mookie Betts expected to return to the infield next year, the team could still use another everyday corner outfield bat (Andy Pages, Chris Taylor and James Outman are the only other full-time outfielders on the team’s current roster). And after Hernández, there are few impact options beyond him on either the free-agent or trade markets.
For now, however, the team at least took one step toward shoring up its biggest remaining winter need, landing Conforto on a night the rest of the baseball world was obsessing over the other lefty outfielder to come off the board.
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