Dave Roberts puts ticking clock on struggling Dodgers slugger ahead of trade deadline

Veteran outfielder Michael Conforto got a one-year, $17 million contract from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the offseason, but he has not played up to his salary in 2025. Conforto is inexplicably having the worst year of his Major League career at 32 years old.

After slugging 20 home runs and putting up a .759 OPS for the division rival San Francisco Giants in 2024, Conforto has batted just .176 with six home runs for the Dodgers in 2025 (good for a -0.5 fWAR).

He has been a major disappointment while Teoscar Hernandez is having another great season and Andy Pages is emerging as a young star. But the Dodgers could still use some help in the outfield with Conforto struggling and leaving a hole in the lineup.

Dodgers could acquire trade deadline help if they boot Michael Conforto

The MLB trade deadline is just over a month away, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was not shy when asked about replacing Conforto.

“It’s critical,” Roberts said. “I think that I’ve shown my faith in him and giving him opportunities. I do, like I’ve said, think he’s trending in the right direction. But we’re going to continue to look and figure out ways we can get better as a ballclub as we do get closer to the deadline. I hope that’s not in his kind of mindset. Just continue to get better each night. But it’s important for him to continue playing well.”

Tommy Edman has the ability to play the outfield if the Dodgers need someone to step up. Or, as Roberts alluded to, the Dodgers could look for help from outside the organization by making a trade. Jarren Duran, Cedric Mullins, Luis Robert Jr., Taylor Ward, and Adolis Garcia are some of the hot outfield names on the market right now. All of them would be a major upgrade.

Conforto is running out of time. If he wants to have a role with the Dodgers for the rest of the 2025 season and into the playoffs, he needs to prove himself over the next few weeks. He's already been given three full months to show a semblance of production and he hasn't even come close.

The standard in Los Angeles is championships. If there are guys in the lineup not playing up to that standard, they will be replaced. It feels like Conforto is officially on notice, and Dodgers fans feel it's long overdue.