Friday, November 7, 2025

Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2025

President of Baseball Operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Andrew Friedman, hasn’t made many mistakes during his tenure. Last December, Friedman signed left-handed outfielder Michael Conforto to a one-year $17 million contract. It was a mistake for Friedman, who couldn’t predict that Conforto would have a 2025 season.

During the season, Dodger fans called for the release of Conforto. I just ignored him since I knew the Dodgers wouldn’t have Conforto roaming in left field during the postseason. They didn’t. They didn’t have Conforto on any postseason roster.

Defensively, Conforto was bad in left field. While left field is a primary defensive position, the play of Conforto cost the Dodgers runs and hits that prolonged innings and created rallies. His range in left field was bad, and he had a weak and inaccurate throwing arm. His defensive WAR was -0.9. The Dodgers need a better defensive left fielder in 2026. Conforto was a defensive liability.

While left fielders are frequently the least defensively adept players on the diamond, they contribute greatly to the offense. Well… Conforto didn’t.

In 132 games, Conforto had a .199 batting average and a .305 on-base percentage. He struck out 121 while walking 56 times. He had 12 home runs. At no time was Conforto hot offensively. He took up space in the lineup.

Normally, it is hard to decide what players to keep after a team wins the World Series. However, not re-signing Conforto is an obvious decision.

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