If Michael Brantley Is Not 100%, Should Houston Resort to Conforto as Insurance?

The Houston Astros recently signed OF Michael Brantley to a 1-year deal, making him the starting designated hitter for the 2023 season. Brantley recently said that he will not be swinging or hitting a bat until mid to late January. To take precaution, the Astros should definitely resort to bringing Michael Conforto in just incase.

A couple of months ago, there were reports that the Houston Astros were highly interested in OF Michael Conforto and contacted his agent Scott Boras to try and get a deal done. The reported initial offer was a 2-year, $30 million deal, a contract that was offered during the season but Conforto and his team declined. This seemed to be a panic move by Houston to bring some extra depth in the outfield for the playoffs, but that didn't matter as they went on to win the World Series.

It was strange that Conforto declined the offer from Houston because he had reportedly suffered a shoulder injury while working out last offseason, which led to him not playing all of the 2022 season. You would think that a player like him would take a 15 million AAV on a talented team and get his name back up to where he could possibly make more when he becomes a free agent again.

As it stands now, these are the outfield options the Astros have:

• Yordan Alvarez
• Kyle Tucker
• Michael Brantley
• Chas McCormick
• David Hensley
• Mauricio Dubon
• Jake Meyers

Yes, Michael Brantley was signed to primarily be the DH for the Astros but one injury to another player and we could see him in LF for a while. This is why Conforto would be a great option for Houston, offensively and defensively. The Astros get a player who had a slashline of .232/.344/.729 (AVG/OBP/OPS) along with 14 HR and 55 RBI in 406 AB's. In the outfield, Conforto is known for having a great arm which would be a great addition along with Tucker in the other corner.