MLB Rumors: Michael Conforto Exercises $18M Giants Contract Option for 2024 Season

Veteran outfielder Michael Conforto will return to the San Francisco Giants after he picked up his $18 million player option for the 2024 season, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

The 30-year-old earned the opportunity to opt out of his two-year, $36 million contract after making 350 plate appearances. The structure of the deal allowed him to cash in if he enjoyed a return to form after he missed the entire 2022 campaign.

That didn't happen as Conforto's production closely mirrored his 2021 returns.

In 125 games, he hit 15 homers and drove in 58 runs while posting a .239/.334/.384 slash line. His 99 OPS+ was the second-worst of his career and well below his career average (120), per Baseball Reference.

Little went right for Conforto in the second half. He slugged .327 after the All-Star break and landed on the injured list in August with a hamstring strain. He had just four hits in his final 44 plate appearances after coming off the IL.

There was a time when it looked like Conforto could potentially command a nine-figure payday. MLB.com's Anthony DiComo reported in April 2021 the belief within the league was that he'd "seek $200 million or more, after George Springer received a six-year, $150 million deal from the Blue Jays" on his next contract.

Quite a bit has changed since then.

Conforto injured his shoulder while working out in January 2022 and underwent season-ending surgery that April. With that in mind, it's perhaps concerning his power numbers were well below what he was doing during his peak with the New York Mets.

According to FanGraphs, he had a .145 isolated power and a .315 wOBA. His barrel percentage (7.9) was a personal low, as were his expected slugging (.414) and sweet spot percentage (31.9), according to Baseball Savant.

In defense of Conforto, such a poor year by his usual standards meant he was still a league-average hitter. His on-base percentage was the fourth-best on the Giants.

Still, there's no getting around the fact the current version of Conforto is a far cry from the one that punched a ticket to the 2017 All-Star Game.

Perhaps a bounce-back is in store in 2024 without the lingering effects of his lengthy rehab from surgery. But his expectations will be reset accordingly given what looks like a sustained trend.