Ranking the Top 8 Landing Spots for Michael Conforto in MLB Free Agency

Free-agent outfielder Michael Conforto rejected the New York Mets' one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer last November to pursue a long-term deal on the open market. 

Conforto's agent, Scott Boras, said the one-time All-Star is drawing "extraordinary" interest from other teams. He first made a name for himself as a rookie by hitting two home runs in Game 4 of the 2015 World Series against the Kansas City Royals. 

MLB's free-agent market came to a screeching halt in December when the lockout began. However, it should move at a breakneck pace whenever the two sides finally settle on a new collective bargaining agreement. 

Until then, take a look at the top potential landing spots for Conforto considering fit, need and willingness to spend on a former All-Star who is not necessarily at the top of the free-agent market.

Let's face it: The Milwaukee Brewers were exposed last year. 

They had a cool story, boasting a National League Cy Young winner in Corbin Burnes and another top-five finisher in Brandon Woodruff. Their starters boasted a combined 3.13 ERA, second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers' starting staff.

While elite pitching carried the Brewers to the NL Central title, their offensive concerns turned out to be valid. The Atlanta Braves shut them out twice in the NL Division Series.

The Brewers have to add hitting this offseason, which is where Conforto could come in. He could help prop up one of MLB's weakest offenses.

If Conforto is looking for a lucrative, longer-term deal, Milwaukee might not be a fit. Would a three-year, $60 million or four-year, $80 million contract do the trick?

It's difficult to get a read on the Washington Nationals from a team-building standpoint. Ever since winning the World Series in 2019, all they've done is lose talent.

Shortly after winning the World Series, Anthony Rendon left the Nationals in free agency for the Los Angeles Angels. Washington then traded away Max Scherzer and Trea Turner before last year's deadline, and franchise legend Ryan Zimmerman just retired. 

Meanwhile, Juan Soto, arguably the best hitter in baseball, turned down a massive 13-year, $350 million extension offer before the lockout, according to ESPN's Enrique Rojas. The Nationals' only real option with Soto is to keep offering him even more money until he accepts it. 

In the meantime, Conforto could also make sense in the nation's capital. Washington traded away seven expiring deals and a little more than a year of team control of Turner, so general manager Mike Rizzo is clearly starting over with Soto as the planned centerpiece. 

The Nationals were good at getting on base last year (their .337 OBP was second only to the Houston Astros), but they lacked necessary power beyond Soto and Josh Bell, finishing 11th in slugging (.417).

Conforto could be a questionable fit with the Philadelphia Phillies because of his positional redundancy with reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper. Both have mostly played right field in recent seasons. 

But if the Phillies figured out the fit defensively, possibly by moving one of them to left field, Conforto would offer much-needed offensive support.

Philadelphia has shown interest in higher-profile free-agent outfielders such as Nick Castellanos and Kris Bryant, per MLB Network's Jon Morosi. But if they aren't able to land one, Conforto could be an interesting fit. 

The Phillies desperately need to surround Harper with more talent, specifically at the plate and in the outfield. They were average to below average in each slash line and essentially wasted an MVP season from Harper, who carried them in the second half of the season. 

Conforto would fill an important need for the Phillies. And if he worked out for them, they'd get to rub it in the face of the division-rival Mets in the process.

The Mets are replacing Conforto with Starling Marte, who signed a four-year, $78 million contract with them in November. Why not just make it an even swap by having Conforto replace him in Oakland?

Conforto had a down 2021 season, while Marte slashed .310/.383/.458 with an MLB-high 47 stolen bases between Miami and Oakland.

Marte is four years older than Conforto, but he's clearly a better player right now. The A's signing Conforto would seem like a consolation prize for losing Marte, especially if they end up trading key leaders like Matt Olsen and Matt Chapman. 

The A's ranked 19th in slugging percentage (.406) last year, and considering what they might be trading, they could need someone like Conforto to serve as a stopgap.

The Texas Rangers have already signed 34-year-old Kole Calhoun to a one-year, $5.2 million contract with a $5.5 million club option in 2023. In theory, he could be their new right fielder. 

But Conforto is objectively better than Calhoun, and the Rangers haven't been shy about running up the tab. 

Calhoun could provide depth behind Conforto, who would follow infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien as key signings for Texas this offseason. 

Seager, who signed a 10-year, $325 million contract with the Rangers, is also represented by Boras. It would not be surprising to see Boras also try to score a big payday for Conforto, whom he has described as "the King of Queens" and a "a National League East beast."

If Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, Jorge Soler and/or Freddie Freeman leave Atlanta in free agency, the defending World Series champions would suddenly have an urgent need to build their offense back up.

Why not do so with a soon-to-be 29-year-old former All-Star?

The easy answer is that Conforto's down year in 2021 could dissuade executives from paying him more than the $18.4 million qualifying offer he turned down from the New York Mets. He slashed only .232/.344/.384 with 14 home runs and 55 RBI in 125 games for the Mets last year,

However, superagent Scott Boras said lingering effects from COVID-19 contributed to Conforto's struggles.

"They all know who he is and they all know what happened to him early in 2021," Boras told reporters in November. "It was kind of unrelated to his ability."

The Miami Marlins' ballpark is not exactly a favorite among Major League hitters, but Conforto has done well there. His career OPS at Marlins Park is .857 over 154 plate appearances, which is above his overall career mark (.824).

The Marlins are also historically toward the bottom of MLB in payroll, which could make them an unlikely landing spot for Conforto. But if he's unable to land a deal for more than three or four years at the average salary he's looking for, they could be a good fallback option.

Although Miami signed Avisail Garcia to a four-year, $53 million deal before the lockout, it still needs another outfielder who can hit. The Marlins were 28th in batting average (.233) and 29th in both on-base percentage (.298) and slugging percentage (.372) last season. 

In mid-December, Joe Frisaro of Man on Second Baseball reported the Marlins "have had discussions with Conforto, and he remains a possibility."

Miami is ranked higher because there is at least a credible report of interest between the two sides. 

The Cleveland Guardians are also starved for offense. Their 21st-ranked OPS is part of what kept them out of contention in the American League Central, where the Chicago White Sox ran away with the division by 13 games.

Cleveland's outfield wRC+ of 86 between 2019 and 2021 ranks last in Major League Baseball over that time span. Simply put, this has been one of the least productive outfields in baseball in the last three years. 

Whether they bolster it by trades or free agency, the Guardians have to improve their outfield this offseason. They acquired Myles Straw from the Houston Astros at the deadline, and he could be their long-term answer at center field, but the corner outfield spots could still use some work.

As for the Chicago White Sox, their main holes are at second base and in right field. Conforto seems like a reasonably affordable option for a White Sox team expecting to contend in the American League for the next few seasons.