SAN DIEGO — As a pending free agent surrounded by younger, cheaper and some more productive players at his own position, Michael Conforto may not fit into the Giants’ plans for 2025. And yet, on Saturday the veteran outfielder was back in their starting lineup, while Marco Luciano and Luis Matos rode the pine.
“It’s a balance,” manager Bob Melvin said. “It depends on who we’re playing, and we’re playing a lot of teams that are right in the middle of the playoffs. And it’s also a balance of developing guys, too. So there’s going to be a balance to that.”
Even if the Giants find themselves out of contention, if not mathematically eliminated, Melvin shares Bruce Bochy’s mindset that they owe it to the game to put out a competitive lineup, particularly when all of their remaining games come against teams fighting for postseason positioning.
At the same time, the organization acknowledges that the best use of these final three weeks is to evaluate the players they expect to fit into the picture next season.
That may not include Conforto, who doesn’t have a clear spot in the Giants’ crowded group of outfielders between the emergence of Heliot Ramos, the anticipated return of Jung Hoo Lee and the presence of others such as Matos, Grant McCray and Mike Yastrzemski (who himself could be non-tendered if the Giants opt to lean into their youth movement).
“I’m obviously open to (re-signing). I like it here,” said Conforto, a Seattle native who went to college at Oregon State. “But I think a lot of things have to happen in the offseason, and we won’t know how realistic that is until the end of the dead of the offseason.”
When Conforto signed his two-year, $36 million contract before the 2023 season, he was less than a year removed from surgery on his throwing shoulder that cost him the entire 2022 season. He hoped to prove that he was not only back to full health but the same offensive force that posted a 128 OPS+ through his first six big-league seasons with the Mets.
He’s checked off one box and hopes his potential suitors this offseason recognize the progress made toward the second.
“As far as production, no,” Conforto said. “But physically, yeah. It’s crazy to think back on last year and I was just hoping to start the season on Opening Day. This year, it’s like not even a thought. … It’s more about going out and competing and winning games — not hoping to stay healthy.”
While Conforto was first and foremost disappointed with the Giants’ position in the standings and his contributions to that end — a .220 average and .660 OPS with runners in scoring position track with the team’s overall numbers — individually he sees the underlying numbers that indicate there’s more left in the tank.
“I wish I would have played better in some big games for us and feel like there were some hits left on the board,” he said. “But overall I feel like I’ve been …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
