Michael Conforto remains the lone notable free agent that remains unsigned after turning down the New York Mets’ qualifying offer back in November to test the free agency waters.
Now, the 2022 season is underway and the 29-year-old right fielder is without a home as it appears that he and his agent, Scott Boras, have overplayed their hand in thinking they could land a larger or multi-year deal rather than the one-year, approximately $18 million offer the Mets put forth.
Granted, on March 30 Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that Conforto landed “irregularly” on his shoulder while diving for a ball during a workout in January. He and Boras are waiting until it’s fully healed before negotiating with teams.
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It remains unknown the extent of Conforto’s injury or how healthy it is at this time, but there appears to be a semblance of rumblings regarding interest in the one-time All-Star.
Mike Rodriguez of Univision reported on Monday that both the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Guardians “have reached out” to Conforto’s camp seeing as they could use a boost in the outfield.
In Boston, Jackie Bradley Jr. doesn’t appear to be a long-term option while the Guardians’ No. 1 option, Josh Naylor, is on the 10-day injured list.
It remains one of the larger surprises of the spring that Conforto has not been signed despite a miserable 2021 season in which he slashed .232/.344/.384 (.729 OPS) with 14 home runs and 55 RBI in 125 games.
This after, in his previous 467 games, he slashed .265/.369/.495 (.864 OPS) with 162-game averages of 34 home runs and 95 RBI. A shortened 2020 season offered even more promise when he posted a .927 OPS with nine home runs and 31 RBI in 54 games.
