Outfield help was one of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ biggest positional needs heading into this past offseason.
The Dodgers ultimately settled on Michael Conforto and Teoscar Hernández as their starting corner outfielders for 2025, though re-signing Hernández took longer than expected.
Once a standout with the New York Mets, Conforto struggled in recent years and posted middling offensive numbers with the San Francisco Giants over the past two seasons
However, the Dodgers saw promise in Conforto’s performance last season and believed they could help him improve further if they got him in their building. Namely, his 20 home runs and .450 slugging percentage, which would have placed him in the top-50 in MLB if he had qualified.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts likes what he has seen from Conforto this spring and views him as a potential breakout player this season, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“Like I said from the very beginning – I think he’s going to be one of my picks to click this year as far as a guy that I think is going to really take a step forward,” Roberts said.
“Not saying he’s Teo of ’24. But that’s kind of the light I see him in.”
Specifically, the Dodgers believe they have identified some adjustments to get Conforto back to the way he was hitting during his rookie season, where he had a .270 batting average and .841 on-base plus slugging percentage.
“I think that our guys have seen some things that they think can make him get back to what he used to be in ’15, more of a productive hitter,” Roberts said. “Where he’s at in his maturation as a ballplayer – I just think things are really lining up.”
After a slow start to Cactus League play, Conforto has recently shown glimpses of the player the Dodgers hope he can be in 2025. After starting 2-for-17, he has collected five hits in his last six at-bats, including two doubles and a home run.
Similarities between Michael Conforto and Teoscar Hernández
The Dodgers took a calculated gamble when they signed Conforto to a one-year, $17 million contract in the offseason. It is a large contract to hand out to someone who batted .236/.329/.407 the past three seasons, but the nature of a one-year deal mitigates the issue of salary.
This mirrors the Dodgers’ approach to signing Hernández last season. While Hernández was coming off a down season when he signed with the Dodgers, he has been much better than Conforto in recent seasons.
However, their career numbers are strikingly similar. Conforto has hit .251/.348/.456 over 3395 at-bats, while Hernández has hit .263/.320/.488 in 3534 at-bats.
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