Source – Dodgers and Michael Conforto reach one-year, $17 million deal

DALLAS – The Los Angeles Dodgers, needing help in their outfield and missing out on signing Juan Soto, agreed to terms with Michael Conforto on a one-year, $17 million contract, a source told ESPN on Sunday night.

Conforto, 31, spent the last two years with the San Francisco Giants, hitting .238/.322/.418 with 35 homers and 124 RBIs in 255 games, playing both left and right field. Conforto was particularly productive against opposing right-handed pitchers last season, hitting .284/.349/.537 in 106 plate appearances.

At Major League Baseball’s winter meetings, which begin Monday, the Dodgers were among the five finalists for Soto, along with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays. And although they made a competitive offer, according to sources, it was the Mets who secured Soto a 15-year, $765 million contract.

The question is how signing Conforto might affect the Dodgers’ pursuit of Teoscar Hernández, another free-agent corner outfielder who is considered a club favorite in LA’s championship run this year.

The Dodgers and Hernández have been in negotiations in recent weeks but have been unable to close that gap, sources familiar with the process said.

Despite the addition of Conforto, Hernández, who is right-handed, could still fit into the Dodgers’ plans. Currently, Conforto, Tommy Edman and Andy Pages are slated to be the Dodgers’ outfielders in 2025, with Mookie Betts once again moving to the middle infield. But Edman could also see himself spending a lot of time at shortstop depending on what other moves are made this offseason.

If the Dodgers don’t agree with Hernández, both the Yankees and Red Sox are expected to pursue him aggressively. Others might also turn in his direction.

Conforto looked like a rising star early in his career with the Mets, posting an .864 OPS and 12.2 Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement from 2017-2020. But he had a down year in 2021, declining the Mets’ qualifying offer and receiving little interest as a free agent during the lockout-shortened offseason, then injured his shoulder during practice, leading to surgery that ruled him out stayed away for the entire season in 2022.

After two solid but unspectacular years in San Francisco, he will fill the Dodgers’ need for a left-handed outfielder.