Report: Conforto Injury Has Slowed His Free Agent Market

While all of the big free agent shoes have dropped, Michael Conforto has been the odd man out. Some have begun to wonder why he hasn't yet signed anywhere. Now we're learning why... At least according to his agent, Scott Boras.

Free-agent outfielder Michael Conforto landed “irregularly” on his right (throwing) shoulder diving for a ball during a workout in January, and wanted to get back to 100 percent before resuming contract negotiations with clubs, according to his agent, Scott Boras.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 31, 2022

Conforto suffered a shoulder injury during the lockout in January, after landing awkwardly on his throwing arm. Boras says Conforto "wanted to get back to 100%" before resuming contract negotiations with teams. 

Others would point to the rumor that Boras had Conforto turn down a $100M extension offer from the New York Mets last year, and then the $19M qualifying offer after the season, and is now looking for some way to explain why his client is still unemployed. 

Boras also confirmed that Conforto returned to hitting five weeks ago and is now back to “his normal swing plane” and working out for teams in Arizona. And as you might expect, he insisted that "there is a robust market for his services."

MLB Insider Jon Heyman recently listed the Texas Rangers as a favorite to land Conforto, while the Chicago White Sox have also been mentioned as a strong suitor.

Photo Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports