It’ll be an eventful week for Michael Conforto, as he’ll make his spring debut in the field on Thursday, a major milestone on his path back from shoulder surgery.
“I keep telling the guys who are like, ‘You’re back,’ that I’m not back until I’m out there playing baseball, playing the field,” Conforto said. “It’ll feel like an accomplishment, for sure, to get back in the field.”
On Tuesday, Conforto hit a homer in his second consecutive game, this time drilling a shot to right off of Graham Ashcraft in the third. It’s a sign to him that a mechanical adjustment to get his hands ready and get his front foot down has paid off.
“I’m starting to feel more like myself a little bit, seeing the ball a lot better,” Conforto said. “I felt like I was making my decision super early early on in the spring. We did a little dive on that and just found that my hands were coming down with me a little bit, so just keeping the hands up.”
So far this spring, Conforto’s exclusively been a designated hitter, which he said he doesn’t like because “it’s hard to stay in the flow of the game.”
Conforto last played in the field on Oct. 3, 2021 when he was with the New York Mets. Conforto didn’t sign with anyone last season after concerns with his shoulder led him to undergo surgery in late April.
Before the operation, he had one of the strongest outfield arms in the game, with Statcast measuring his hardest thrown ball from the outfield at 93.8 miles per hour in 2021 (outfield velocity data goes back to 2020). Conforto says his arm strength is back, but he still needs to build his stamina back.
“When I go out and throw to bases, I get pretty tired by the end of it and I never used to get tired,” Conforto said. “We’re not even a year out from surgery, so we’re just keep working to the point where I can focus on just being a ballplayer and not worry about the shoulder.”
Conforto said he can make all of the long throws from right field, where he’ll play on Thursday. That’s intriguing to Conforto because president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said in January that he imagines Conforto mostly playing in left field and the other outfield free agent pickup Mitch Haniger playing in right.
Conforto wasn’t sure why his first start will come in right, but he’s fine playing wherever — as long as he gets the repetitions needed at that spot.
“Me and Mitch have both said we’ll play wherever,” Conforto said. “We’ll bounce back and forth during batting practice. I know, from our perspective, wherever the team needs us, we’ll go. But I don’t know why [my first game is in right]. Maybe the arm is looking better than they anticipated.”
Conforto did acknowledge that the throws have been easier from left field on his arm, and he even has experience in center field, too.
It’s not just on the field where he’ll be busy this week, either. Conforto will also get to see two of his best friends from his time with the Mets, Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil, when they play for Team USA against the Giants on Wednesday night.
“I was hoping I could play in that game, too” Conforto said. “It’s going to be a fun one, I’m sure it’s going to be packed.”
