Veteran outfielder Michael Conforto has been informed he will be on the Cubs’ Opening Day roster, according to Patrick Mooney of the Athletic. In related news, outfielder Seiya Suzuki will not be ready for Opening Day, according to manager Craig Counsell (link via Mooney). The club has not decided if Suzuki will start the year on the injured list, though it is increasingly likely, per Mooney.
Conforto, 33, had been in camp on a minor-league deal with a big-league Spring Training invite. On the heels of a rough 2025 season with the Dodgers, both offensively and defensively, he seemed like a long shot to make the big-league roster in Chicago. Center field was never an option. The North Siders have one of the game’s best defensive center fielders in Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Conforto has not played up the middle since 2019. That left the two corner outfield spots, DH, and the bench as potential landing spots, though he seemed blocked by the presence of Suzuki, Ian Happ, Moises Ballesteros, and Tyler Austin.
With the recent injury to Austin and today’s update on Suzuki, Conforto may get some outfield reps in the early going. Austin was brought in on a one-year, $1.25MM deal this offseason to shore up the bench, though he’ll now miss several months following knee surgery at the end of February. That leaves Matt Shaw, who was forced out of a starting spot by the Alex Bregman signing, as the main infield backup on the roster. In the outfield, Conforto and Dylan Carlson are projected as the backups according to RosterResource. With Suzuki currently injured, the team may use Conforto and Carlson in a right field platoon in the short term.
Conforto enters 2026 with 11 years of big-league experience. His peak came with the Mets from 2017-20. In that time, he batted .265/.369/.495 and graded out 33% better than average by wRC+. His 24.4% strikeout rate was less than ideal, but he compensated through a combination of power and on-base ability. Conforto hit 97 home runs in that four-year span and only once posted an isolated slugging percentage below .200 (.193 in the pandemic season). Meanwhile, he got on base regularly thanks in part to an excellent 12.7% walk rate.
His performance fell off from 2021 onward. He was roughly average (104 wRC+) in his final year with the Mets. He underwent shoulder surgery in April 2022 while still a free agent, knocking him out for that campaign. In 391 games from 2023-25 with the Giants and Dodgers, Conforto was average overall, but inconsistent from year to year. In 2023, his strikeout, walk, and power numbers were only slightly down from 2021, resulting in a 99 wRC+. The following year saw him bounce back to 12% above average. The Dodgers bought into that rebound with a one-year, $17MM deal for Conforto in December 2024. Unfortunately, despite a roughly average hard-hit rate, Conforto’s power and contact were diminished, and he finished the year with a career-worst 83 wRC+.
Though he has a 121 career wRC+ against right-handed pitchers, the lefty-swinging Conforto has actually shown reverse platoon splits from 2024-25. In that time, he has been 11% worse than average against righties, compared to 35% better than average against southpaws. That could make for an interesting platoon with the switch-hitting Carlson. The latter has been a poor hitter overall since the start of 2023, although he performed significantly better against righties (85 wRC+) than lefties (49 wRC+) in 2025. Starting Conforto against lefties and Carlson against righties wouldn’t be a perfect fit, but it could be the temporary arrangement until Suzuki is ready to return.
Conforto’s deal came with a $2MM base salary if he made the big-league roster. RosterResource has the Cubs’ 2026 payroll at $231MM, with a projected luxury tax payroll of $243.999MM. That is just barely below the first threshold of luxury tax penalization. Since the club dipped below the threshold in 2025, they would be treated as first-time payors in 2026. As such, the addition of Conforto’s salary will cost the team an additional $400k, barring any changes to payroll over the course of the season.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
