Hidden 2025 stat could be key to Michael Conforto making Cubs' Opening Day roster

Signing Michael Conforto is a low-risk move for a reason. After an absolutely dreadful campaign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Chicago Cubs can't have high expectations for the 33-year-old. So while Dodgers fans might laugh at the Cubs for bringing in their big free-agent bust, paying the former Mets star $17 million to play every day is a very different animal than throwing him a minor league deal to see if he can hang around on the bench.

For most of his career, the lefty-swinging Conforto has mashed right-handed pitching. That's what the Dodgers brought him in to do, and what he failed miserably at a year ago.

However, buried in the 2025 stat line is the key to Conforto making a push for an Opening Day roster spot. It sounds counterintuitive, but he actually gave lefties fits last year.

Michael Conforto's ability to hit same-handed pitching could be the key to him securing a roster spot with the Cubs

Conforto hit a dreadful .199/.305/.333 last season, which was good for a well-below-average 83 wRC+. Pair that with some seriously poor defense in left field, and he was worse than the average guy you can pick up off the street, subtracting 0.6 fWAR from Los Angeles. In that light, it's amazing he got as much run as he did.

His 76 wRC+ against righties proved that he failed to perform the primary function that the Dodgers brought him in for, but on the flip side, he silently excelled against southpaws, posting a 120 wRC+ despite being at a platoon disadvantage.

Here's the major caveat: that superb performance came in just 78 plate appearances. So was this some small-sample oddity or did the old dog learn a new trick (while forgetting the ones he already had)? There might be a little more than meets the eye.

First, let's take a look at what got him to that 120 wRC+. Against lefties, he slashed .246/.372/.385. When you think of a lefty-masher, you typically think about power, but that wasn't really how Conforto got it done. Instead, he made sure to get on base, walking at a heatlhy 10.3% and recording a .341 BABIP. Not flashy, but in terms of passing the baton, it certainly gets the job done.

Unlike a lot of left-handed hitters, Conforto has actually done a decent job of handling left-handed pitching throughout his career. His track record against righties is better, but a career 98 wRC+ against same-handed pitching shows he's never really been a complete liability.

But there's a big jump from a 98 wRC+ to a 120 mark, and when the sample size is small, it's hard to buy in. Good thing he also hit much better against lefties than righties in 2024, too. In 106 plate appearances, he slashed .284/.349/.537 with a 145 wRC+. Against righties, he managed a wRC+ of 102.

Now we're starting to see a trend. It's unclear what's causing it, and the sample still isn't the greatest, but it's getting harder to ignore. Theoretically, if he can hit roughly average against righties and continue this sort of dominance against lefties, he'll be a useful corner outfield reserve.

That would be a huge boost for Chicago. The plan right now is for Matt Shaw to get significant run in the outfield. That's something he's never done professionally. Meanwhile, the Cubs' other veteran flier for the outfield, Chas McCormick, is an even bigger reclamation project than Conforto is.

Betting on Conforto to be a major contributor still comes with long odds, but if he does make it happen, it might just be in a very unconventional way.