.199 Hitting Michael Conforto Has Interest From AL West Team

At the age of 33, has Father Time caught up with Michael Conforto a little early? The former New York Mets All-Star has had a mostly dreadful five-year run, culminating in a .199 average last season with a .637 OPS for the LA Dodgers.

But that hasn't stopped the Houston Astros from showing interest in the free agent outfielder, per beat writer Brian McTaggart.

With their chances of trading 3B Isaac Paredes diminishing, the Astros have expressed interest in free agent OF Michael Conforto, a source tells MLB. com. A LH hitter, the 32-year-old slashed .199/.305/.333 last year with 12 homers and 36 RBIs in 128 games for the Dodgers.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) February 18, 2026

The writer explains that the 'Stros hopes of trading infielder Isaac Paredes for an outfielder have waned, so they're now looking to find a left-handed bat another way.

But the free agent market is down to the bottom of the barrel at this point, and that's where Conforto currently resides.

After missing 2022 with a shoulder injury suffered in the offseason, Conforto has gone on to hit .238 in two years with the San Francisco Giants, and the woeful .199 last year in his only season in LA. That mark would have been dead last in the entire major leagues if he had enough plate appearances to qualify (Note: He did have 486 PAs, not exactly a small sample size).

He got himself a World Series ring out of it, though he did not appear in the playoffs.