Michael Conforto Makes Big Decision on Free Agency

His 'bet on himself' deal with the San Francisco Giants didn't exactly come up a winner... At least not yet. So Michael Conforto has made the decision to opt in to the second year of his contract with the Giants, at $18M, rather than take his .239 average and .718 OPS into free agency. 

In other words, even his vaunted agent Scott Boras must have admitted that there would be no way to spin Conforto's year into any type of lucrative free agent deal. And certainly, those are the only types of deals Boras is interested in spending his time on. 

Michael Conforto has opted in and will stay with the Giants in 2024 making $18M, per @JonHeyman pic.twitter.com/bnjLJtDnSP

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) November 6, 2023

The 30-year-old outfielder had missed the entire 2022 season after a shoulder injury suffered in offseason training, and accepted a two-year deal with an option with the Giants, hoping to prove he was back to full health and a star hitter. That just didn't happen. 

Conforto managed to play just 125 games, hit 15 home runs, and finished with an OPS+ of 99, just a tick under major league average. 

He is a former All-Star, and had four straight seasons of great production for the New York Mets before going into his free agent year in 2021 with a poor performance, and then came the injury. 

He'll attempt once again in San Francisco in 2024 to get his career back to an All-Star form. And he'll get a cool $18M to try. 

Photo: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports