SF Giants OF Michael Conforto receives good news from MRI on heel
The SF Giants avoided some bad injury news on Wednesday in an MRI on outfielder Michael Conforto's bruised heel. Conforto left the Giants 2-1 loss to the Pirates on Tuesday night with a bruised and was visibly limping around the clubhouse on Wednesday. Manager Gabe Kapler told reporters during his media availability on Wednesday that the injury had worsened overnight. However, according to a report by NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic, an MRI came back clean and Conforto's status is "day-to-day," suggesting he should avoid the injured list.
SF Giants outfielder Michael Conforto singles during a game at Oracle Park. (2023)
John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
The Giants had high expectations for Conforto heading into the season and hoped he would be the team's everyday right fielder. Despite getting off to a slow start, Conforto has been a force in the middle of the Giants' lineup over the past few weeks. On the season, he is hitting .250/.347/.464 with a team-leading 11 home runs. Since May 12th, though, Conforto has posted a scorching .393/.427/.721 triple-slash with six big flies.
Conforto was arguably the Giants' most proven offseason acquisition this past winter. While he missed the entire 2022 season after undergoing multiple shoulder surgeries, the Giants still signed Conforto to a two-year, $36 million contract that includes a player opt-out after the first season. Even with serious concerns about his health, San Francisco's front office was willing to bet $36 million on Conforto returning to his previous form.
Conforto had previously spent his entire professional career with the New York Mets, who drafted him in the first round of the 2014 MLB Draft. Conforto made his big-league debut with the Mets in 2015 and hit .255/.356/.468 with 132 home runs over the next seven seasons. Conforto was consistently an above-average producer at the plate and was selected for the All-Star game in 2017.
The Giants have plenty of outfield depth on the active roster, which should allow them to avoid placing Conforto on the injured list if they want. Mitch Haniger, Mike Yastrzemski, Austin Slater, Bryce Johnson, Blake Sabol (Giants #33 prospect), and Brett Wisely (Giants #22 prospect) should easily be able to cover all three outfield spots. With that said, Luis Matos (Giants #4 prospect) is already on the 40-man roster and has been quite productive since he was promoted to Triple-A Sacramento.
For what it's worth, even though he appears to have avoided a more serious injury, Michael Conforto may still end up on the injured list. The SF Giants have multiple players approaching a return from the injured list, including catcher Joey Bart. Kapler has said that Bart will likely begin a minor-league rehab assignment this weekend. The Giants could simply place Conforto on the injured list for a week to give his heel ample time to recover while activating a player like Bart.
