Veteran outfielder Michael Conforto was given a golden opportunity with the Chicago Cubs, as he seemingly got an Opening Day roster spot after Seiya Suzuki went down with a knee injury. He’s only played in three games, but fans already want him gone, and it’s not like Conforto is doing himself any favors with his plate appearances.
Conforto has started the last two games in right field, as the left-handed hitter has been sharing the playing time in right field with Matt Shaw early on in the season. It’s a nothing sample size, 0-for-5, with a walk, but Conforto has also struck out four times. That included a pair of strikeouts in his two at-bats in Monday night’s 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
The outfielder struck out swinging in the second inning on three pitches against rookie Ryan Johnson, and then it happened again in the third inning. The second strikeout was a little more frustrating, as Conforto whiffed at three straight splitters from Johnson and left two runners stranded on base.
Some Cubs fans have seen enough.
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Shaw pinch-hit for Conforto in the fifth inning and immediately got on base with a single. Shaw then stole second base.
The Cubs are hoping that Suzuki will return from the injured list during the team’s upcoming road trip. Cubs manager Craig Counsell said that the right fielder is eyeing a mini-rehab stint in the minors this weekend, and hopefully that will be enough to get Suzuki ready for his season debut within the week.
The Cubs have an intriguing choice to make on the active roster once Suzuki does come back, and although it seemed obvious at first that Scott Kingery was going to be gone, is Conforto’s early showing hurting his chances to stick on the 26-man? The Cubs have switch-hitting outfielder Dylan Carlson also on the bench, and although he hasn’t played yet, Carlson fits better on the team as the backup center fielder/defensive sub, pinch-runner option than Conforto.
Meanwhile, Kingery would be the only other backup infielder next to Shaw, so would the Cubs rather keep Kingery because of his versatility or Conforto, who would be the team’s primary left-handed bat off the bench?
Conforto did have a solid year in 2024 with the San Francisco Giants, as he had a 112 wRC+ in 488 plate appearances, but he was quite awful with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. Conforto played in 138 games with the Dodgers in 2025, and he had an OPS above .700 in only one month. Following a hot couple of weeks to begin the regular season, Conforto proceeded to slash .193/.296/.312 in his final 449 plate appearances.
So, despite an overall decent track record, Conforto probably doesn’t have the benefit of the doubt with the Cubs in 2026, after last year’s performance.
