The Los Angeles brought many important pieces this offseason, retooling a team that had been away from their second World Series victory in five years.
The outfield, a weak point for the Juggernaut, was secured by re-signing Tescal Hernandez and bringing in veteran Michael Comfort. Hernandez is heading for another All-Star caliber season, while Comfort is struggling very much in his first season with the team.
More news: ‘ Dave Roberts reveals how far Heisen Kim moves
After spending the past two seasons batting .238 alongside National League West Rivals San Francisco Giants, the 32-year-old was considered another left-handed bat capable of bringing table and log quality innings to the table in the outfield.
He is currently hitting .164 with 48 strikeouts in 46 appearances, so this wasn’t the case with Conforto.
Recently, Conforto has shown signs of finding his swing again, but it wasn’t the consistent production he thought he was signing this offseason. He was batting .156 throughout the first 28 games of the season, improving to 0.179, albeit only slightly during May.
Manager Dave Roberts opened up to a struggling veteran and realized the frustration he is probably experiencing.
“I think the last handful of days rocked the bat better. “He’s in a good place. I’m sure he’s frustrated. But I praise his work and consistent efforts. He’s not running away from it. That’s not always easy when you’re struggling.”
Over the last 10 games, Comfort has shown a flash and has hit .265/.359/.412 at .771 OPS, but there is still some important work to do. The regular season is long – and while the outfield isn’t as deep as LA would like, the team hopes he will continue to build on recent improvements.
More news: Dave Roberts admits that the pitching is “not the staff we thought we had.”
Photo credit: Jerome Miron-imagn Image
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