It wouldn’t seem as if the Cubs need any more outfielders at this point in Spring Training, but now they reportedly have one:
This is all the information we have about the Cubs signing Michael Conforto at this time. We don’t know if this is a minor-league deal or a major-league deal. If the latter, the Cubs do have two players (Shelby Miller and Justin Steele) who could go to the 60-day injured list to make room. I’ll update this post when we know more.
Conforto turns 33 next Sunday. With the Dodgers last year he batted .199/.305/.333 with 12 home runs in 418 at-bats over 138 games. The Dodgers left him off their postseason rosters.
From 2017-19 Conforto was a pretty good player with the Mets. Over that span he batted .257/.363/.492 with 88 home runs. But since he missed the entire 2022 season with a shoulder injury, his production has declined.
With several Cubs about to head out for the World Baseball Classic, Conforto might simply be in camp to fill in for them. Seems doubtful he’d actually make the Opening Day roster. But, as always, we await developments. (He’ll have to change that number if he does make the team.)