Houston Astros Named Landing Spot for Slugger Looking for the Right Fit

The Houston Astros could be take advantage a slugger that was hurt by his home ballpark over the past few seasons.

Sep 20, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; San Francisco Giants designated hitter Michael Conforto (8) bats during the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros desperately needed more offensive depth towards the end of the season, so that should be one of their biggest priorities in free agency.

Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers and Mauricio Dubon all underperformed this season and cannot be the group that the Astros run it back with. Adding another bat and maybe flipping one of them to help elsewhere would likely be beneficial.

CBS Sports' R.J. Anderson offered an interesting player that could be the answer, naming Houston as one of the top destinations former San Francisco Giants slugger Michael Conforto in free agency.

"Conforto had his most productive season since 2020, clearing the 50 extra base-hit threshold despite playing in a ballpark that greatly suppressed his home-run total," said Anderson. "Statcast's calculations suggest that the Giants had the single worst park for him from a home-run perspective. Things can only get better. Whichever team signs him should expect him to hit righties well; they should not expect him to hit lefties, or to play a stellar corner outfield."

The veteran is an interesting case of someone that has excelled when playing on the road, but a bad home field fit kept his numbers looking more mediocre than they could have been.

During his time playing at Oracle Park in San Francisco, he posted just a .225/.308/.353 slashing line with nine home runs and 42 RBI in two seasons.

In that same time, his numbers jumped up to a .248/.332/.471 slashing line with 26 home runs and 82 RBI on the road.

Bringing him to Minute Maid Park could turn him back into the All-Star that he once looked like. He has only played one series there during his career so far and he went 1-for-10 at the plate. It is such a small sample size that it can be ignored, though.

Conforto came out of the gates hot in his MLB career and looked primed to become one of the sport's best hitters.

He had an impressive .250/.358/.484 slashing line over his first six seasons with the New York Mets. His lone All-Star appearance came back in 2017.

His final season with the Mets was just ok and then he missed all of 2022 with an injury. He still looks like he can be an All-Star level bat, but has just been in a poor fit.

The 32-year-old will also be able to be signed for a relatively good value given his misleading numbers.