Ex-Mets OF to skip out on free agency in surprising move

Michael Conforto knows what it’s like to test free agency and fail. That’s why this winter, the former Mets first-rounder is staying put in San Francisco.

After the 2021 season, he declined a one-year $18.4 million qualifying offer from the Mets and instead became a free agent. Then an unfortunate shoulder injury suffered in January 2022 and the MLB lockout resulted in Conforto going unsigned during the 2022 season.

More than a year after declaring for free agency, the Giants signed him to a two-year, $36 million deal with a player opt-out, which Conforto chose not to exercise.

Via Jon Heyman of The New York Post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter:

Michael Conforto has opted in and will make $18M for Giants in 2024

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Conforto abandons a good free agent market for outfielders with teams like the Yankees who are in search of a left-handed batter who can play in left or centerfield.

Conforto had near identical seasons in 2021 with the Mets, where he posted a .384 slugging and .719 OPS, and in 2023 with the Giants, where he had the same slugging percentage and a .718 OPS.

After signing with the Giants, Conforto expressed that he had no regrets about the way things ended with the Mets, who drafted him in the first round (10th overall) of the 2014 season.

“I look back, but I don’t look back with any regret. You can always look back and say it’s all bad. But I definitely can’t look back with regret. I’m happy where I’m at.”

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Manuel Gomez may be reached at mgomez@njadvancemedia.com.