Giants Forgotten $36 Million All-Star Could Be Solution To Royals' Biggest Weakness
The Kansas City Royals have addressed many of their needs thus far in the offseason, but not their biggest one by far.
The outfield was a black hole for the Royals in 2024, and somehow, Kansas City managed to sneak their way into a playoff spot in spite of it. If they want to go deeper in the playoffs this time around, though, what they have definitely isn't going to cut it.
The current depth chart includes a cast of struggling young hitters and fringe veterans, and having at least one quality big-league starter would make a massive difference in 2025. Perhaps the Royals could find that veteran lurking on a roster across the country in the Bay Area.
Michael Conforto of the San Francisco Giants is an interesting potential fit for Kansas City. Caleb Moody of Just Baseball linked the Royals to Conforto over the weekend as a candidate to take over a corner outfield spot at Kauffman Stadium.
"After one of the worst seasons of his career in 2023, with a 99 wRC+ and a .718 OPS, Conforto had decent bounce back season in 2024 slashing .237/.309/.450 with 20 HR, 66 RBI and a 112 wRC+, showing glimpses of his past self," Moody said.
"He’s not the guy he was in his prime, but 2024 showed that there’s still a productive player in there and if surrounded by the quality at the top of that Royals order, he could thrive even more than he did in San Francisco last season."
Now 31 years old, Conforto could still have a lot left in the tank. He was an All-Star way back in 2017 for the Mets and produced a 120 OPS+ across his seven years in New York. Obviously, those numbers declined in San Francisco, but Oracle Park is also notoriously rough on lefty hitters.
Conforto just finished up a two-year, $36 million deal with the Giants, and is likely seeking something similar this winter. If the Royals can get him back closer to the player he was with the Mets, that contract would be an absolute steal.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org