Player review: Michael Conforto

Though Conforto’s offense improved, an injury derailed a hot start that ultimately led to frustration for the veteran.

2024 stats: 130 G, 488 PA .237/ .309/ .450, 116 OPS+, .212 ISO, 1.3 bWAR

Through the first forty games of the 2024 season, it appeared Michael Conforto had finally recovered from his shoulder surgery. The repair cost him the entire 2022 season, delaying his free agency until the winter of 2023 when he signed with the San Francisco Giants for $36 million over two years with an opt-out clause after the first season.

There were flashes of his early career power in May of 2023, but a complete reacclimation to Major League pitching never materialized. The lights on the power-tower dimmed quickly, and the lingering effects of his surgery deflated much hope of Conforto being a reliable middle-of-the-order bat by summer. Bogged down by the realities of the long rehab, he ended his first season in San Francisco with a .384 slugging percentage and 100 OPS+, league average and tied for his career lows in 2021. It came as no surprise that Conforto opted-in to the $18 million attached to the second and final year of his contract.

But at the start of the 2024 season, it looked like the thumb-twiddling through the previous seasons’ plate appearances was far from purposeless.

Conforto collected the Giants’ first hit and homer of the season with a 3-hit performance on Opening Day in San Diego. On March 30th, he came up in the 8th inning with the bases-loaded against southpaw reliever Tom Cosgrove and turned on an inside sinker, yanking the ninth pitch of the at-bat over the wall in right. By the time the Giants arrived in San Francisco after their Southern California road trip to start the season, Conforto had already collected 10 hits with 3 home runs and 9 RBIs.

Led by a firm right shoulder and quick hands on inside offerings, he charged through the first month of the season. By early May, he was one of the Giants most productive bats in the line-up. His .490 slugging and .210 ISO led the team while his batting average (.280), OPS (.821) and wRC+ (129) were all second to LaMonte Wade Jr. and his absurd on-base rate.

After the years-long slog, it looked like Conforto was becoming Conforto again. Then on May 11th, Conforto was removed in the 4th inning after running to first in a game against the Reds. The day the Giants announced he had suffered a right hamstring strain and would go on the IL, Jung Hoo Lee dislocated his shoulder after a collision with the wall in center field.

During his absence, the Giants’ outfield got tossed into a blender. Lee had season-ending surgery; Luis Matos lifted off and fell back to Earth; Heliot Ramos settled into an everyday role in left and positioned himself to be San Francisco’s only position player invited to the All-Star game.

Conforto didn’t get back on the field until June 3rd and missed about twenty games. The season’s complexion had changed in those weeks. Whatever momentum and energy he had built up before his injury had completely dissipated, and it took months to regain. He hit on the interstate in June and July with slugging numbers stuck in the .300s. August and September he finally reclaimed his timing and pop, launching 10 homers over the final two months to redeem his season’s numbers somewhat.

A .759 OPS (116 OPS+) is an improvement from last year, especially in terms of slugging (.384 to .450), but it’s not a complete reclamation of form, nor is it that eye-catching for a prospective club looking at a player with Conforto’s bat-first profile. The injury played its part on the back-of-the-card figures, though it was probably its most detrimental on the personal level. Conforto was finally contributing at the plate for the first time in three seasons. He was turning on inside pitches, burying doubles in the right field corner, getting the barrel to the ball, walloping lefties. I’m sure it was agonizing to watch his bat cool on the bench as he was forced to wait for his body to catch up to his ambitions again.

No doubt about it, the strain tripped up his season — but was it actually a blessing for the Giants? It’s hard to imagine the rise of Ramos occurring without the fall of Conforto. Ramos had been up in the Majors for a handful of days filling in for Austin Slater (a concussion—also in that Cincinnati series) as the right-handed option in right field. If Conforto continued on his hot streak, there was little chance of Ramos breaking out of that platoon role. Opportunity arose with the injury. He shifted over to left and played the next 19 games in that corner outfield spot, hitting .280 with a .797 OPS and 124 wRC+ (84 PA) during that span. Given the time to establish himself, Ramos made himself indispensable.

There were scenarios where Conforto played well enough to get courted by the front office to stay longer in a Giants uniform beyond this season. The way 2024 started out, perhaps that was in the cards, but he never could quite sustain an elevated level of play that would tip the scales in his favor and endear himself to the San Francisco fanbase. The timing of his swing, the timing of injuries, the timing of his time with the Giants — it was all just slightly off. It never quite synced, and when asked about his past two years there was a note of disappointment about his own play.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Conforto went to a hitter friendlier park next year, stayed healthy, and put up numbers that got even closer to his numbers pre-2021. His expected stats, his Statcast metrics are all trending in the right direction. He regained his start of season form by the end of the season, posting an .859 OPS (173 PA) across August and September. His 137 wRC+ was the same as Matt Chapman’s over that same span.

Michael Conforto became a free agent at the start of this month, and though I think it’s a nice note that he is interested in staying with the team, his time in San Francisco feels over, especially if he’s looking for a multi-year deal. However Spotrac predicted he’d only get a one-year deal for less than $5 million…which is a pretty enticing cost for Conforto’s offense. The Giants definitely need some left-handed power. What they don’t need is another limited corner outfielder who will possibly clog up and complicate options for younger players.

In the grand scheme of things, Conforto’s greatest contribution to the Giants in 2024 was getting out of Ramos’s way.