The Los Angeles Dodgers’ signing of Michael Conforto to a one-year, $17 million contract has not gone according to plan, with the veteran outfielder in the midst of the worst season of his career.
Conforto struggled for much of the first half before bouncing back with a solid showing in July. The Dodgers were hopeful that the 32-year-old would be able to maintain that success down the stretch, but he has since fallen into another slump.
“I think whoever we put out there, we need production. So it’s very important,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the lack of offense in left field.
While Conforto has received regular starts in left field to this point, that could soon change with Kiké Hernández back from the injured list, and Hyeseong Kim and Tommy Edman progressing toward returns as well.
“I guess the easy answer is day-to-day,” Roberts answered when asked about the outlook in left field moving forward.
“I don’t see anyone being the guy every day. But I do think that with Michael, Alex Call, Kiké, I like having some options and mixing and matching them. … I think each day is going to be an opportunity, but I would say it’s going to be hard-pressed for me to say one guy is going to have it every single day.
“I think that Michael is swinging the bat a little bit better. He certainly has handled some left-handed pitching. And then I think Alex Call is just better versus left than right. And then Kiké is a guy that’s sort of the wild card, in the sense of he hasn’t had the year up to this point.
“The last few weeks he was hurt, but he’s a guy that we’ve played every day in the postseason. So it’s going to be interesting to see these last four or five weeks, how it shakes out.”
Hernández is expected to start in left field on Tuesday night.
Would Dodgers move Teoscar Hernández to left field?
Teoscar Hernández returned to his preferred position of right field this season, but Roberts did not rule out the possibility of him shifting back to left field.
“Like I’ve said the last couple days, I think it’s certainly a great thought,” Roberts said. “It’s something that is not a 0% chance of happening. I haven’t approached Teo yet about it, but it’s certainly something I’ve thought about.”
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