Through 68 games, Dodgers prove-it signing Michael Conforto is batting .165, the lowest average of any qualified hitter in baseball.
His .565 OPS is the third-lowest thanks to Luis Rengifo and Joey Ortiz being marginally worse.
Other Dodgers have started slow and then caught fire (Max Muncy, Andy Pages), others have slumped but recovered (Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman), but no one is as stuck in a rut as Conforto.
So will the Dodgers dump him and upgrade at the trade deadline?
Andrew Friedman, who’s been standing by Conforto all season, kind of shut that line of questioning down entirely. He’s still optimistic the veteran picks things up: “Watching the way he is working, watching the progress being made, I would bet that his next two months are way better than his last two months.”
Conforto is batting .087 with a .255 over his last seven games, down from .149/.450 in his last 15 and .181/.602 in his last 30. “Progress”? What progress?
The Dodgers benched him for two games on June 18 and 19 to give him a “reset,” but he’s been back in the lineup since, and almost always at the detriment of Hyeseong Kim, who’s all but begging for more playing time.
Michael Conforto is now hitting a league-worst .162 and has a .562 OPS
But I’m sure the Dodgers are encouraged by his 111-mph lineout, which should buy him at least 3 more weeks
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHHarris) June 22, 2025
Dodgers continuing to stand by Michael Conforto is creating yet another roadblock for Hyeseong Kim
Kim is being blocked left and right by underperforming veterans — Miguel Rojas, now Conforto — because the Dodgers still, inexplicably, don’t seem to believe in him.
Dave Roberts said that Kim had earned opportunities, but he’s only been in the starting lineup four times in the Dodgers’ last 10 games.
It’s sort of seemed like the Dodgers are making up excuses not to play Kim, who could take Conforto’s spot in left field just as easily as he could Rojas’ spots in the middle infield.
For a short time, it was because he hadn’t hit enough against lefties — which made no sense, because he’s hitting .750 with a 2.500 OPS in the precious few opportunities the Dodgers actually give him against lefty pitchers.
He’s been left out of every single starting lineup against a lefty starter since he was called up to the majors. Conforto, also a lefty, is hitting .214 with a .639 OPS in 42 at-bats versus lefty pitchers.
The Dodgers are giving more money to Conforto this season and he’s a veteran, but if the Dodgers are really running on a “meritocracy,” as Roberts claimed, then it doesn’t make any sense that Kim keeps getting passed over.
