The mercury hit 70 degrees Tuesday in balmy Scottsdale, Ariz.
Last summer, it was about 40 degrees hotter as Michael Conforto braved the desert heat while rehabbing his surgically-repaired right shoulder. But for the past two days, he’s been getting accustomed to his new digs at the Giants spring training facility after officially inking his two-year, $36 million contract on Friday.
Conforto met the Bay Area media via Zoom Tuesday afternoon and gave a candid look at his past year. A few months after turning down an $18 million qualifying offer from the New York Mets, Conforto injured his shoulder while training last January. He eventually went under the knife in April for season-ending surgery, losing a year of his prime.
“It was heartbreaking a little bit,” Conforto said of 2022. “But it did give me a little perspective. It gave me a chance to step back and view my career as a whole.”
Despite the obvious risks, the Giants came knocking this year and offered him a healthy deal, which also includes a player opt out after this season if Conforto reaches 350 plate appearances.
San Francisco approached Conforto after the Carlos Correa deal fell through, with both players being represented by super agent Scott Boras. Conforto admitted he was a bit weary of how the physical would turn out with the Giants. Though Conforto’s deal was first reported on Dec. 23, it wasn’t made official until Friday, a full two weeks later.
“I understand it’s a scary thing for a team to sign a guy who had throwing shoulder surgery,” Conforto said.
The outfielder said he’s throwing up to 200 feet in long toss and he continues to make good progress from his long layoff. The next steps will be to get reps throwing from the outfield to second and third base, along with playing balls off the wall.
“The progression has me ready to play the field in spring,” Conforto said. “Hopefully I’m 100 percent by opening day. We’ll see. You gotta take it day by day. But that’s what the progression has me lined up for.”
Goal No. 1 for Conforto is obvious: get back on the field and stay healthy. The 30-year-old provided a consistent presence in the Mets lineup for four seasons before having a bit of a down year in 2021.
Conforto made his lone All-Star team in 2017. From 2017-19 , the left-handed hitting outfielder slashed .257/.363/.492 with a 131 OPS+ while averaging 29 homers and 81 RBIs per season. He then hit a career-high .322 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season with nine dingers and 31 RBI 54 games, before coming back down to earth in 2021 – with a .232/.344/.384 slashline, 14 homers and 55 RBI in 125 games.
Conforto is most experienced in right field, but that's where fellow free agent signee Mitch Haniger has played exclusively the past two seasons.
While the focus of Conforto’s rehab at this point is to regain his throwing arm, he said his swing is in a “great” spot and that he was “cleared to swing pretty quickly” after his surgery. Conforto is eager to show he can still be a middle-of-the-lineup run producer.
“When you get a year of your career taken away from you, it re-lights that fire,” Conforto said. “You realize how much you love this game. … I’m still in the prime of my career. I have the opportunity to come back and turn it up a notch.”
A Seattle-area native who played at Oregon State, Conforto is eager to be back on the west coast. He even referenced his introduction at the 2004 Little League World Series, when he told ESPN that his favorite player was Barry Bonds.
“To have the opportunity to step into the same batter’s box as Barry Bonds, I was a huge Barry Bonds fan growing up,” Conforto said. “I’ve got one ball in The Bay. I’ve hit one homer in The Bay, I’m looking forward to hitting a lot more.”