The Los Angeles Dodgers wasted no time after winning their eighth World Series trophy to start retooling their championship-tested roster, but not every move has proved to be as valuable as their vision.
Knowing that the outfield was a main pressure point for L.A. in 2024, Michael Conforto was brought in to bring his veteran presence and career .251 batting average to the plate.
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The latter part of his reasoning for being added to the Dodgers hasn’t exactly panned out as he is hitting just .164 on the year.
This is precisely why Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller insinuated that Los Angeles made a mistake in committing to a left field run by Conforto.
One of the veteran’s benefits was his slugging. After posting a .450 slugging percentage with the San Francisco Giants last season, along with 20 home runs — 17 of which were on the road — the Dodgers rightfully thought that they could get more long balls out of him at a ballpark that wasn’t tied for the second-worst Park Factor ranking for left-handed sluggers.
That hasn’t been the case in 2025.
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Manager Dave Roberts sees the struggles of the veteran and can understand that he is presumably frustrated. He spoke Tuesday evening about Conforto’s offensive blockage this season.
“I think the last handful of days has swung the bat better and just really not getting a whole lot of results with that,” Roberts said. “He’s in a good spot. I’m sure he’s frustrated. … But I applaud his work and his consistent effort. He’s not running from it and that’s something that isn’t always easy when you’re struggling.”
All is not lost as Conforto is showing signs of life over the last 10 games. He has a .265 average with an OPS of .771 in that span.
If the veteran can continue to build upon his recent flashes, perhaps he will grow into the vision of who the Dodgers see him being, and step up as the moments get bigger down the stretch.
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