Michael Conforto reacts after hitting a single against the Miami Marlins last season. (Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
The Dodgers have agreed to terms with veteran outfielder Michael Conforto on a one-year, $17-million contract pending a physical, according to a person familiar with the deal but not authorized to speak publicly about it.
It was unclear as baseball’s winter meetings began in Dallas on Sunday how the acquisition of the left-handed-hitting Conforto will influence the team’s continued pursuit of free-agent sluggers Juan Soto and Teoscar Hernández, the latter of whom hit .272 with 33 homers and 99 RBIs for the World Series-winning Dodgers last season.
There were reports Sunday night that the bidding for Soto — who is being pursued by the Dodgers, the New York Mets and Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox — had surpassed $700 million and that the Dodgers, according to the New York Post, had pushed their bid for Soto to at least $600 million.
Conforto, 31, hit .237 with a .759 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 20 homers and 66 RBIs in 130 games for the San Francisco Giants in 2024, the final year of a two-year deal in which he made $18 million last season.
Read more: Plaschke: Baseball fans can whine, but there’s nothing wrong with the way the Dodgers are winning
A career .251 hitter with an .804 OPS, 167 homers and 520 RBIs in nine seasons, seven with the New York Mets and two with the Giants, Conforto is primarily a corner outfielder who has made 133 of his 861 starts in center field.
Conforto has a career .257 average and .838 OPS against right-handed pitchers and a .232 average and .705 OPS against left-handers.
Plate discipline has also been a strength for Conforto, who drew 84 walks in each of the 2018 and 2019 seasons for the Mets. Conforto struck out 118 times and walked 42 times in 488 plate appearances for the Giants last season.
If the Dodgers are able to re-sign Hernández, who is expected to command a deal of at least three years and $60 million, Conforto could platoon with the right-handed-hitting Andy Pages in left field and spell the switch-hitting Tommy Edman, who is a better hitter from the right side, in center field.
Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.