Michael Conforto passes on free agency, opts in to $18,000,000 deal with Giants for 2024

Michael Conforto will not be hitting the open market this offseason. The outfielder will remain with the San Francisco Giants after opting in to his $18 million player option.

Conforto signed with San Francisco last offseason and wants to remain there in 2024.

Jon Heyman tweeted that Michael Conforto would not be available for other teams to sign. He has decided to stick it out for at least one more season in the Bay and will earn a pretty substantial contract for it.

Conforto had a pretty decent year in 2023, but it wasn't one that demanded that he get a bigger contract in free agency. He may not have made $18 million on a new deal elsewhere, so the former New York Mets star decided to stay home for another year.

Conforto recorded 1.1 fWAR for the Giants with a league average 100 wRC+. His career average is 121, so this was a bit of a down year for him at the plate. In fact, it was his worst year since 2016.

Nevertheless, he will hope to rebound in 2024. The Giants are expected to have money to spend and could be in on the big free agents like Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell and others. Conforto will be around for that as the Giants try to get back to contender status.

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Michael Conforto opting for $18 million from Giants

Michael Conforto opts in with Giants

The San Francisco Giants struck out on a few major signings in 2022. Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa slipped through their fingertips, and they ended up signing a few cheaper players like Michael Conforto and Mitch Haniger.

This year, Conforto is opting to stay in San Francisco on his $18 million player option. The outfielder likes San Francisco, and that would be a contract total he might have trouble signing for on the open market.

For that reason, it makes perfect sense that he wants to remain in San Francisco for 2024.