MESA, Ariz. — The Cubs are adding veteran outfielder Michael Conforto to spring training camp, bolstering their depth and adding a new wrinkle to the position battle.
The parties have agreed to a minor-league deal, sources confirmed Monday morning. After completing his physical, Conforto is expected to officially join team workouts on Tuesday.
“At this point, we’re looking to bring in candidates to just strengthen the roster,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “And it’s a sign of just continuing to do that. Michael had a down year last year, but has been a good player in this league for quite a while.”
Conforto, 32, hit just .199 with the Dodgers last season. But his decade-long career includes an All-Star nod in 2017, a 33-home run season in 2019, and a .322 batting average and .927 OPS during the shortened 2020 season.
“He’s a player that’s had a lot of success in this league,” Counsell said. “And if he can recapture some of that, you’re going to have a useful player.”
Conforto joins fellow non-roster invitee outfielders Dylan Carlson and Chas McCormick, all with proven major-league track records. The spring battle for the fourth outfield spot also includes Kevin Alcántara and Justin Dean, who are on the 40-man roster and have minor-league option years.
There will be plenty of available playing time for the group in the coming weeks, thanks to the World Baseball Classic. Right fielder Seiya Suzuki left Monday to join Team Japan in Tokyo. Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is set to depart later this week to join Team USA. Both are expected to have deep runs in the tournament.
“Sometimes when you sign guys, it’s like, where’s the opportunity here?” Counsell said. “And then we show up in five days, and there’s a big opportunity, right? So that’s how you look at this.”
‘New beginning’ for Brown
As the Cubs traversed the valley from Mesa to Surprise, right-hander Ben Brown felt emotions bubbling up.
“Just a lot of excitement,” Brown said after his first start of the spring. “I’m grateful for new beginnings, new starts, and I felt awesome.”
Brown had an up and down season last year, finishing with a 5.92 ERA.
“I’ll give Ben credit,” Counsell said, “The day the season ended, he had a plan.”
Brown’s plan encompassed his mental game, mechanics, arsenal and physical fitness.
“I had to own up to the fact that I was a non-factor at certain points last year,” he said. “And a that’s a lonely feeling. No one wants to be that, and that’s what I became. And it puts a little fuel in the fire – no resentment towards anyone but myself. I just wanted to be better than that.”
Brown threw two scoreless innings Monday, limiting the Royals to two singles.
Rotation schedule
Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga is set to make his first start of the spring Tuesday against the Padres.
The Cubs are easing in right-handers Cade Horton and Edward Cabrera, getting them extra live batting practice sessions early rather than forcing game action.
WBC-bound Javier Assad (Mexico) threw 1 ⅓ innings in relief on Monday. And Jameson Taillon (Canada) and Matthew Boyd (USA) are scheduled to make their second starts of this spring on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively – their last action before joining their national teams.
