Conforto (shoulder) is scheduled to begin playing the outfield in Cactus League games Thursday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Conforto hit his second home run in as many games Tuesday out of the DH spot, and he can soon test his surgically-repaired shoulder with live action in the corner outfield. The early word from Giants camp was that Conforto was having trouble with the accuracy of some of his throws, but perhaps those issues have since been resolved. He inked a one-year, $18 million contract with San Francisco in December after having to sit out the entire 2022 campaign.

Conforto (shoulder) took the final step in his throwing progression on Friday, Evan Webeck of the San Jose Mercury News reports.

EDGE Analysis

Conforto did so by playing long-toss from 200 feet, and Webeck notes that his throws were encouragingly clocked in the high-80s. The 29-year-old will be limited to DH duties in the early part of the Cactus League schedule, but it sounds like he'll be fit to serve as the Giants' primary left fielder come Opening Day. Conforto missed the entire 2022 season following right shoulder surgery before then inking a one-year, $18 million free-agent contract with San Francisco in December.

Conforto will operate as a designated hitter in the early stages of spring training, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Areareports.

EDGE Analysis

Conforto missed all of 2022 while recovering from right shoulder surgery, and he still needs to build up his arm strength, as Pavlovic notes. Once he completes his throwing progressions, the 29-year-old should see the majority of his playing time in left field, but he could see a fair share of reps as the DH during the regular season as well.

Conforto agreed Friday with the Giants on a one-year, $18 million contract, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

EDGE Analysis

Buster Olney of ESPN relays that Conforto's contract contains an $18 million player option for 2024. Though Conforto doesn't represent the big free-agent bat the Giants had been hoping to sign after the team had been in on Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa, among others, the 29-year-old outfielder was one of the few hitters still available who has some upside. Conforto missed the entire 2022 season following surgery on his right shoulder but is expected to enter spring training without any limitations. Conforto is going to a park which suppresses left-handed power, so this isn't a great landing spot for fantasy purposes. However, the most important thing will be just showing he's healthy again.

Conforto (shoulder) remains engaged in hitting and throwing programs and isn't expected to face any restrictions for spring training, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.

EDGE Analysis

Morosi notes that Conforto has been hitting for several months now, but his involvement in a throwing program implies that he's back to full health after he underwent surgery on his right shoulder in mid-April. Conforto had hoped to sign with a team last summer to serve as a designated hitter in the second half of the 2022 campaign, but he ultimately couldn't find an offer to his liking in free agency and sat out the entire season. Now that he's further removed from surgery, Conforto will aim to secure a more lucrative deal on the open market. The fact that he should be available to play the corner outfield at the start of the 2023 season should only help his efforts to find an opportunity somewhere.

Conforto will look to sign a contract after the 2022 MLB Draft and could potentially return as a hitter in September if he can get ahead in his shoulder rehab, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

EDGE Analysis

Conforto underwent surgery on his right shoulder in mid-April, and it was initially believed that he would miss the entire 2022 campaign while on the mend. However, agent Scott Boras revealed Monday that Conforto will be open to signing with a team in July after the draft with the possibility of a September return, but only as a hitter. "There is a possibility the swinging modality can be back to normal at a much earlier date than the throwing aspect," said Boras. "He had his surgery in April. There's a chance depending on how he progresses that hitting in the majors late in the season is a possibility." As Sherman notes, any prospective team would undoubtedly check into the status of Conforto's shoulder before agreeing on a deal.

Conforto underwent shoulder surgery in mid-April and will not play in 2022, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

EDGE Analysis

Conforto reportedly suffered a shoulder injury in January, though agent Scott Boras declared him fully healthy by late March. However, Conforto required surgery to repair the issue, and he will now be out for the entire 2022 campaign. Positively, he will have plenty of time to recover and gear up for the 2023 season. He'll be 30 by Opening Day and has a lengthy list of injuries that includes a previous shoulder surgery in 2017.

Agent Scott Boras said Wednesday that Conforto is now healthy and in contract discussions after suffering a right shoulder injury in January, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Conforto picked up the injury during a workout in January when he landed awkwardly on the shoulder, and he wanted to be fully healthy before attempting to sign with a team. The 29-year-old resumed talks with clubs last week, though it's unclear if he's expected to land a deal before the start of the regular season next week. Regardless, he'll have a delayed start to the season since he's already missed nearly the entirety of spring training. Conforto endured the worst year of his career in 2021 with a .728 OPS, 14 home runs and 55 RBI in 125 games.

Conforto declined the Mets' qualifying offer Monday and will head to free agency, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Conforto likely had more to think about than most players who are tendered a qualifying offer, as he hit free agency at a poor time. He posted a career-best 158 wRC+ in 2020, but his 106 wRC+ in 2021 represented his worst mark since 2016. He also missed over a month with a strained hamstring. Ordinarily, a player who's been a well-above-average hitter over the course of his career who hits free agency while still in his 20s would be in line for a big payday, but teams may be a bit more hesitant about Conforto given his unimpressive 2021 campaign.

The Mets extended a qualifying offer to Conforto on Saturday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

EDGE Analysis

Conforto will have a little less than two weeks to decide whether to accept the one-year, $18.4 million offer from the Mets or test the open market. The 28-year-old outfielder is coming off his worst season in the majors by fWAR (0.8), so it's conceivable that he could take the qualifying offer in an effort to re-establish his value in 2022. He has a career .356 OBP and 124 wRC+, so given his age, there should be quite a few suitors if he were to decline the qualifying offer.