Most of the major MLB free agents have already signed.
The lockout left players such as Carlos Correa, Freddie Freeman, Trevor Story, Michael Conforto, and others unsigned for a long period of time.
Speaking of Conforto, he remains unsigned, while all the rest of the marquee free agents have either found new homes or returned to their old ones.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports provided a little insight on why Conforto remains unsigned at this point.
Rosenthal announced on Twitter that Conforto injured his right shoulder, which is his throwing shoulder, during the lockout and that he wanted to wait to restart negotiations with teams until he was feeling 100% again.
Free-agent outfielder Michael Conforto landed “irregularly” on his right (throwing) shoulder diving for a ball during a workout in January, and wanted to get back to 100 percent before resuming contract negotiations with clubs, according to his agent, Scott Boras.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) March 31, 2022
Why Wait?
The lockout and spring training would certainly give Conforto time to recover, and even if he wasn’t fully recovered, it’s a bit odd that he wouldn’t want to negotiate with anybody until it feels right again.
It makes sense that he wants to be his best for whichever team signs him, but surely his stock has gone down a little bit as a result of the injury and waiting to talk with teams.
Plenty of teams could use a left-handed bat in their lineup and Conforto certainly is a viable option to fill that role.
Him waiting to negotiate might have potentially turned some teams off who wanted to make a play for him when free agency resumed.
He can always recover.
It might take a little time, but as a result of Conforto not wanting to negotiate until his injury heals, he now is likely going to be without a job on Opening Day, unless something happens quickly.
We’ll see which teams take a chance on him.
NEXT: Zack Greinke Back To A Familiar Role With The Royals