Braves mentioned potential landing spot for Rival’s former All-Star OF

The Atlanta Braves should see at least one major free agent sign this offseason. But it also takes calculated, smaller deals to build a championship-caliber roster.

One outfielder who could fall into the latter category for the Braves is veteran Michael Conforto. CBS Sports’ RJ Anderson argued Monday that the Braves are a potential landing spot for Conforto.

“Conforto had his most productive season since 2020, surpassing the 50 extra-base hit threshold despite playing in a ballpark that greatly suppressed his home run total,” Anderson wrote. “In fact, Statcast’s calculations suggest that San Francisco was the worst park for him from a home run perspective. It can only get better.

“Whichever team signs Conforto should expect him to hit the righties well; they shouldn’t expect him to hit the lefties or play a great corner in the outfield.”

Played comfortably the first seven seasons of his MLB career with the New York Mets. In 2017, he made the National League All-Star team, hitting .279 with a .939 OPS, 27 home runs, 68 RBI and 72 runs in 373 at-bats.

Conforto played for the San Francisco Giants the past two seasons. Despite his home games taking place in a very hitter-friendly ballpark, he slashed .237/.309/.450 with 20 home runs in 130 games in 2024.

Conforto is an interesting potential target for the Braves. Atlanta traded outfielder Jorge Soler to the Los Angeles Angels on October 31. Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos admits that right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. won’t be ready before Opening Day 2025, the team should be in the outfield market this offseason.

The problem is that Conforto may look too much like Soler. Conforto is probably best suited for at-bats as a designated hitter due to his subpar defense.

The Braves have already done that Marcell Ozuna will play every day as designated hitter. Atlanta elected to pick up Ozuna’s club option for the 2025 season.

So while the Braves could use outfield insurance and Conforto’s bat should be attractive to Atlanta, he may not be an ideal fit.

The other problem with Soler, however, was his $15 million salary in 2025. If the Braves could sign Conforto for significantly less, they might not mind that he isn’t the best defensive outfielder.

Spotrac projected Conforto will be worth $4.7 million on the open market this offseason.

Besides the Braves, Anderson called the potential landing spots of the Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros for Conforto.