Michael Conforto Talks Motivation for 2026 After His Down Year in 2025

The Chicago Cubs continued to add to their roster throughout the later parts of the offseason, adding veteran outfielders on minor league contracts.

Although the Cubs added Chas McCormick and Dylan Carlson, the signing of Michael Conforto could provide the highest amount of offensive upside.

Conforto's career breakdown

A former top-10 pick by the New York Mets, Conforto hit 132 home runs in seven seasons with New York.

One of his strongest seasons came in 2017, when he made the only All-Star appearance of his career, posting 27 home runs, 68 RBIs and a .279 batting average in 109 games.

Michael Conforto — Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Another strong year for Conforto came in 2019, where he hit a career-high 33 home runs to go along with 92 RBIs, 141 hits, seven stolen bases and a .257 batting average.

Conforto would spend two more seasons in Queens before departing to the Bay Area on a two-year, $36 million contract.

There, he saw his numbers take a step back, but he was still a valuable contributor. In two seasons with the Giants, Conforto hit 35 home runs and drove in 124 with a .238 batting average. Those power numbers earned him a one-year $17 million deal with the Dodgers for 2025, where he struggled mightily.

In Los Angeles, Conforto could never get comfortable, posting negative WAR (-0.7) for the first time in his career. In total, Conforto racked up 121 strikeouts in 486 plate appearances while hitting just .199.

Now with a fresh start in Chicago, Conforto is more motivated than ever to find success at the big league level again.

The 33-year-old recently spoke to The Athletic about using last season’s struggles as motivation.

“It leaves you hungry. It leaves you motivated. It’s something I had to wrestle with through the offseason. You bring it to your offseason workouts. You bring it to the way you approach the offseason. Every day, you’re thinking about that. It’s a new vibe to get you going and get you out of bed and get you working hard.”

In his Spring debut for the Cubs on Sunday, Conforto started in right field and hit eighth in the lineup, going 0-2 with two strikeouts and one walk.

With Opening Day right on our heels, Conforto will have to prove himself worthy of a roster spot rather quickly. That said, there’s still a possibility that he could be brought up during the season if Chicago were to endure injuries to their starting outfielders.