Michael Conforto hasn’t had the season the Los Angeles Dodgers envisioned once they signed him to a one-year, $17 million deal this offseason. Coming into Saturday, the veteran outfielder carried a .187/.299/.327 slash line with 9 homers and 25 RBIs, producing an 81 wRC+ and -0.5 WAR. Merely put, it’s been robust sledding. But by means of the struggles, supervisor Dave Roberts has stood by him.
“I feel Michael goes by means of it,” Roberts mentioned earlier this week. “He’s going to be in there on Friday, however I do suppose I’ve received to seek out some combos to get some constant manufacturing. That’s simply form of the place we’re right now within the season.”
Roberts’ perception in Conforto isn’t unfounded. July provided a glimpse of the hitter he’s been for a lot of his profession, as Conforto posted a .273/.342/.485 line with a 131 wRC+ and seemed like one of many Dodgers’ extra dependable bats. That surge was sufficient to maintain L.A. from making an exterior outfield addition on the commerce deadline.
For Conforto, the assist from Roberts has meant all the things as he tries to seek out his rhythm. “Once you’ve received a supervisor who believes in you and retains providing you with alternatives, that’s all you possibly can ask for,” Conforto mentioned after the sport. “I’m beginning to really feel like myself once more this sequence.”
Michael Conforto (2-4, 2 RBI) talks about Dave Roberts’ assist and the way he is beginning to discover his rhythm this sequence. #LetsGoDodgers pic.twitter.com/MdNYTudWd7
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) August 17, 2025
Dodgers take first place from the Padres on Saturday
On Saturday night time towards the Padres, Conforto rewarded that belief, going 2-for-4 with a two-run single within the first inning that helped the Dodgers bounce out early in a 6-0 win.
“Simply seeing how he was in July, you strategy the deadline and I believed the group confirmed assist in him so far as not buying and selling for somebody exterior of the group,” Roberts mentioned. “Hopefully [he can] construct off of July.”
Roberts, for his half, thinks Conforto’s challenges aren’t about means however strategy. “I just like the aggressiveness, I simply suppose he’s urgent,” Roberts mentioned. “There’s some uncharacteristic chase after which some uncharacteristic passivity within the zone, in order that’s type of a nasty combo. That most likely lends itself to urgent, which is pure, as a result of he needs to do nicely. He’s in there working laborious.”
The Dodgers want him to determine it out ahead of later. Saturday’s win pushed them to 70-53, shifting simply forward of San Diego within the NL West. With Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman anchoring the lineup, Conforto doesn’t must be a famous person — he simply must get again to being the stable run-producer he’s been for many of his nine-year profession.
“I’ve had many occasions to sit down him, however I play him, and I feel that it’s nonetheless in there,” Roberts mentioned. Conforto agrees, and if Saturday was any indication, the timing couldn’t be higher for a turnaround.