The Los Angeles Dodgers seemed to know something the rest of us were missing when they signed Michael Conforto.
Conforto, the 32-year-old outfielder who was once an All-Star with the New York Mets, signed a one-year, $17 million deal with the Dodgers this winter. It was a surprisingly large salary for a bat-first player coming off a mediocre year with the San Francisco Giants.
Unfortunately, whatever the Dodgers saw hasn’t translated to success, as the 32-year-old is batting .172 with a .599 OPS in 50 games. Soon, LA may have to recalibrate their outfield at the trade deadline.
As luck would have it, an outfield bat who wouldn’t have projected to be available before the season now looks like a slam dunk to get traded. Plus, that player–Baltimore Orioles star Ryan O’Hearn–is tearing the cover off the ball.
On Friday, Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller predicted O’Hearn as one of the “big names up for grabs” at this year’s Jul. 31 deadline.
“With the Orioles all but dead and buried, (O’Hearn’s) breakout is going to become some other team’s benefit before too much longer,” Miller wrote.
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“Though he has served as designated hitter more than anything else this season, O’Hearn is more than capable of playing first base or right field. He even occasionally sets up shop out in left field. And that means with very few exceptions, every tentative buyer has a weak point in its lineup that could be filled by O’Hearn.”
The 31-year-old O’Hearn has been a revelation this season, posting a .338 batting average and .977 OPS (which ranks second behind Aaron Judge in the American League). He’ll be a free agent after the season and is only making $8 million this year.
While Miller doesn’t specifically name the Dodgers as fits, the defending World Series champions are more than just “tentative buyers.” They’re all-in on going back-to-back, and chances are, they won’t let a sunk cost in Conforto stand in their way.
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