Prior to the lockout, the Yankees had interest in outfielder Michael Conforto, according to The New York Post’s Mike Puma (Twitter link). The Bronx Bombers join the Rockies and Marlins as the only teams publicly linked to Conforto’s market, though over a dozen teams reportedly checked in on the former All-Star around the start of the free agent period.
The possibility of Conforto jumping from the Mets to the Yankees creates some natural Big Apple intrigue, plus Conforto would seem like a good fit in the Yankees’ lineup. The Bombers are short on left-handed bats, and though Conforto slots in most naturally as the new everyday left fielder, he can also play right field (in the event of an injury or just a DH day for Aaron Judge) or even center field in a pinch, should Aaron Hicks run into more injury woes.
The short porch at Yankee Stadium has been a boon to many a left-handed hitter, and it could help Conforto bounce back from an ill-timed down year just as he was on the verge of free agency. Conforto hit .232/.344/.384 with 14 homers over 479 PA — still above average (101 OPS+, 106 wRC+) production, though well behind the numbers he posted from 2015-20.
Conforto may have been hampered by a hamstring strain that cost him five weeks on the injured list, and teams will surely also note that Conforto’s 2021 Statcast numbers were largely unchanged from his career norms, apart from a drop in barrels and barrel rate. Still, the Yankees or any other interested clubs surely have some concern over guaranteeing a big multi-year contract (and giving up a draft pick, since Conforto rejected the Mets’ qualifying offer) to player coming off a rather underwhelming season.
With that platform year in mind, there was speculation that Conforto could be open to a shorter-term contract with an opt-out clause, or perhaps just a straight one-year deal. Such an arrangement would allow Conforto to quickly re-enter free agency next winter on what he certainly hopes will be on the heels of a stronger 2022 season, not to mention a normal offseason that won’t be interrupted by a lockout. Conforto is represented by the Boras Corporation, and Scott Boras is no stranger to unique contracts (such as the swell-opt) that allow his clients both some flexibility and the possibility of locking in more longer-term money.
The Yankees have done plenty of business with Boras in the past, and in fact another Boras client in Gerrit Cole represents the last QO-rejecting free agent the Yankees signed without regard to the draft pick compensation. Naturally, there is a vast difference between Cole and Conforto’s situations, and thus the Yankees likely have some wariness about surrendering their second-highest 2022 draft pick and $500K in international bonus pool money in exchange for signing Conforto.
That said, if Conforto was open to a shorter-term deal, he could fit into the Yankees’ reported preference for such contracts. New York offered a one-year, $25MM pact to another QO free agent in Justin Verlander before Verlander re-signed with the Astros, and the Yankees’ reported post-lockout plan is to monitor the shortstop market to see if any major names (i.e. the still-unsigned Carlos Correa or Trevor Story) could be amendable to a shorter-term arrangement. It stands to reason that the Yankees could expand this strategy beyond just shortstops, and to any prominent free agents like Conforto who can address other areas of need on the Bombers’ roster, while still not tying the club to a lengthy commitment.
Mike Puma report so false
Wait, this article is not about the CBA? I’m out of here.
A lot of people said 2 things were going to happen very quickly after the lockout ended. The two first moves most likely. #1. The Braves would get a first baseman. #2. Freddie Freeman would sign with a team. They didn’t exclude them both being the same deal but they said both of them would “move very quickly” and they were the only 2 moves I heard reported with such post-lockout urgency. I’m awaiting to see if all those “insiders” were right.
Irritating inane chatter from the Mid-West smh
I wouldn’t be comfortable with Conforto. I would rather have Story.
See, I’m entertaining the idea of both, @Judge99. But without a doubt: Story > Conforto for our squad.
I feel a stopgap for 1 year like Jose Iglesias or Andrelton Simmons instead of Story unfortunately is more likely @Ducky Buckin Fent. But Conforto is definitely a option as a lefthanded lead off hitter with power on a short term deal. We’ll see.
Yeah.
@Yankee Clipper, @Joe Says… @YankeeBleacherCreature, etc, etc have been preparing me for Simmons. Which…well, in a vacuum is just Simply Awful. But as part of a series of moves? Man…maybe? I guess.
Rather have Iglesias than Simmons!
@Mickey777- absolutely! At least Iglesias hits a little. Simmons is all glove. I wish Freddy Galvis (Japan) was still out there as a stopgap. Maybe Story will sign with the Yankees for 1 year. We’ll see.
Not even quite sure how elite Simmons’ glove is at the moment. Still very good, but his elite skills may no longer be there. Iglesias would be a better stopgap.
By OAA (which is what I use now) Iglesias was average – at best – defensively last season (0 OAA).
Simmons – however – is still very much an elite glove: 16 OAA. He is a weird dude though, who also put up a sub .600 OPS (.558 – ewwwwww that stinks!).
The simple answer here is: Trevor MF Story.
@Ducky Buckin Fent- I really want Trevor Story signed also. I really wish he could sign for 1 year, $25 million. Then he can become a free agent next season and get more $. If he signs with the Yankees he could play 3rd base when Peraza is ready to play shortstop. (By mid-season) for what’s it worth Story might be willing to do this, considering he is close friends with DJ LeMahieu.
They have identical career OPS+ marks, and are just about the same age. Although I will say that of late Iglesias has been the better hitter.
@Yankee Clipper has been about Story the entire off-season, Judge. He sold me. I love his combination of power, speed, defense, & durability. I’m seeing some “Freeman to the Yanks” stuff.
I’d rather the Yanks brought Rizzo back & signed Story for a few mil more of AAV. Story checks a lot of boxes for our ’22 squad.
Okay,why not let Judge become an everyday 1st baseman, that leave endless opportunities for outfield. Judge would be a tremendous 1st baseman, offensively and defensely.
No I haven’t been drinking.
LOL. Just saying.
Also really liked Freddy Galvis!
@Boe 2- I’m sorry but I truly have no interest in playing lst base right now. But I’ll tell you what. In 5 years into my extension I will consider playing lst base to help the team. I’m sure Freddie Freeman can dh in his final season. Maybe we’ll platoon at 1b/dh.
Yankees friends: A great site I found with some good articles. It’s on SSTN and the articles are “The Determinator” and measure each position (they’re only a few positions in right now) by 16 different metrics and total the score to determine the top 10 players at each position.
I found them to be very informative and give good statistical perspective on the top players (like, Story is #7 overall and the top overall defensively, and that’s with a down offensive season). They divide each position into two articles: 10-6 & 5-1.
Check it out guys:
startspreadingthenews.blog/start-spreading-the-new…
Can he play shortstop?
I heard potential White Sox.
This post was not necessary. The lockout is over.
TIME FOR A MLBTR LIVE CHAT LETS GOOOO
With Judge & Gallo being elite defensive corner outfielders – both of whom can play some Cf – Cash can maybe get a little creative with how he reinforces CF.
Now.
I’m not sure Conforto is necessarily the right player for that. But it’s an interesting rumor from that perspective, anyway.
If Conforto is signed by the Yankees, expect Hicks or Gallo to be traded. @Ducky Buckin Fent. Gardy would definitely be a great outfielders coach this season for us.
Until I actually looked up Didi’s numbers (on both sides of the ball) from last year, I thought a Hicks for Didi might be a good(?) bad contract swap. Unfortunately, Didi was really bad last year. He was one of the few shortstops worse than Gleyber with the glove.
So: scratch that.
Gallo > Conforto
I don’t think Hicks is tradeable. Not beyond a pure salary dump of some kind anyway.
I’d like to see him as our 4th outfielder somehow. A role I think he could be really good at. But that ship is probably in the wind by now.
Can’t see Gallo being traded as he’s in his final year of arb and affordable. Like Ducky said, Hicks is untradeable. If the Yankees faceplant, they can still get a good return at the deadline for Gallo if he’s his usual all-or-nothing self. Gardy also said he plans to play this season (Miami?).
Why would they sign Conforto and then trade Gallo? Makes no sense, just keep Gallo. Even if Conforto is better than Gallo it’s not worth all that fuss to make that tiny upgrade. Teams don’t do dumb stuff like that, only fans come up with such nonsense.
Gallo > Conforto
I will say: Conforto > Gardner, though.
Gallo is definitely not better than conforto, but you seem convinced he is, so it’s probably not worth discussing
Figured I better check.
I was surprised to see Conforto had a career OPS of .824. Gallo has a career OPS of .821.
Gallo – however – is an elite defensive outfielder, while Conforto is not. It’s closer than I thought, but I still prefer Gallo.
Come on Ducky, you know it’s GGBG.
Remember when Florial was the centerfielder of the future? He has held his own when we’ve seen him. & it’s not like his tools fell off or whatever.
What I’m getting at here, @Joe, is I think I am finally able to emotionally handle: The Loss Of Gardy. But with all the health stuff Hicks seems to be plagued with, I would like to see us do better. Which sucks. Maybe give the kid some run. That’s worked out pretty well for us lately.
Myself, I’ve been ready to move on from Gardy for a couple of years now. I’d like to see Florial get a shot but I wonder if Inciarte gets the nod over Florial.
His role has just been too big the last couple seasons. In a lesser role I think he would have been fine. But he hasn’t been an everyday CF for awhile now.
I assumed Inciarte was destined for the Allen/Davis/Locastro spot. I wouldn’t be very thrilled if he breaks camp with us.
Move Judge to 1st base. Let the flood gates open.
@Boe 2- for the last time, I’m not playing lst!
Toronto. Done.
I could see interest if the Yankees traded Gallo to another team, such as the Padres who showed interest. Most likely, they had an interest in Conforto to see if he might be willing to sign a short-term deal. I’m still of the belief Conforto will get at least a five year deal from some team, but not the Yankees.
@LordD99- yes, the only player the Yankees would sign on the free agent market for 5 years is Freddie Freeman not Story or Conforto.
A few media types have reported Freeman has narrowed to two teams: Return to the Braves, or go to the Yankees. I still think he’s returning to the Braves.
Story might make sense, even with Peraza and Volpe in the system.
The Yankees might be thinking (as it was noted they did last year when they thought about trading for Story) that they would move Story to CF at some point.
The Yankees have interest in every player, every year. They are continuously looking for ways to improve their product on the field and are willing to pay for it. This is not news. News would be “Yankees are not interested in a player”
They’re probably not interested in Sonny Gray.
Lol. True story
PLEASE YANKEES TAKE HIM, most overated player the Mets ever had
welp, I guess I just keep hitting refresh until every free agent signs. soml. baseball is back!
This could be interesting. The Yankees vast resources vs Stevie Cohen’s beautiful money.
I’d rather have Eddie Rosario
Not worth a draft pick.
Signing Conforto only makes sense if they’re going to trade Gallo and I don’t like the idea of selling low on Gallo. I also wouldn’t want them to give up a draft pick for Conforto. Hopefully this is just a case of them checking in on a player and nothing serious
@Ronk325- I would rather sign Story than Conforto. The Yankees would likely be interested in signing one or the other on a short term deal. Yes, the Yankees would have to surrender draft picks for both players so don’t expect them to sign both.
I’m not sure Story is going to be available on a short term deal. It seems like the Mariners had strong interest in him and there were reports that the Red Sox were in on him as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if Story gets a 5 or 6 year deal. I’m still holding out hope that the Yankees get Correa
Gallo sucks.
You can hope his value goes up or you can play to win.
Let’s leave the value investing to small market teams.
Are you doing alright bud? My point was that trading Gallo would be foolish. Sure he underperformed after the trade but he’s still a valuable player and the Yankees only source of left handed power. Trading Gallo for a suboptimal return and replacing him with the inferior Conforto doesn’t make any sense. Especially when you factor in the draft pick that would be forfeited for Conforto
Also worth noting that conforto spends more time on the dl than he does the field!
Signing Conforto and then trading Gallonmajes zero sense. In that case, just keep Gallo.
Out of all the potential suitors for Conforto, the Yankees never came to mind. Certainly could do damage with the RF porch and brings a power LH bat. Still think Yanks focus on pitching upgrades. Conforto to Colorado.
Yankees only employ outfielders best suited for RF. Conforto’s a natural fit.
@angt222- I heard Conforto to the Rockies also. I don’t think he goes there, even though Story is likely to leave. There’s no way Colorado would sign him for 5 years. Maybe the Astros to replace Correa’s bat.
I wonder how the DH in the NL will impact the short FA market between now and the start of the season?
I think NL teams are going to be pretty conservative with signing DH’s and use the spot to rotate players. There will be a salary disparity between AL and NL DH’s for a few years. That’s just my hunch.
You can never have too many corner outfielders and DH’s when winning is secondary to rating points per dollar.
I’ve seen this on some Yankees blogs. It makes sense, they need to work another impact bat into the OF. Gallo moves to CF, Hicks is the 4th OF. They project Conforto could easily bounce back toward his mean offense and it seems like 2022 NYY mode to cheap out & control future obligations by trying to get him on a 1 yr deal.