Jeff Passan's Michael Conforto trade take will convince Dodgers fans he's lost his touch

MLB insiders are one of the more universally disliked subsections of baseball-adjacent people, but Jeff Passan is usually an exception. He gets all of the scoops, so his intel means more, and fans tend to trust his opinions at face value. Still, it's basically impossible for any insider to be completely up to speed with every single organization or fanbase, even if they're as trustworthy as Passan tends to be.

Maybe the Chicago Cubs are a blindspot for him, because even Los Angeles Dodgers fans know his latest trade take on Seiya Suzuki is way off base.

In Passan's latest trade deadline big board, he listed Suzuki as his No. 24 candidate and wrote, "Considering the paucity of impact outfielders available, Chicago could try to take advantage of the market and lean into its depth with Michael Conforto and Kevin Alcantara."

... Do some people actually think Conforto is a serious full-time option?

Conforto only works for the Cubs because they've figured out how to use him. He's earned more starts since his early season heroics, but they know better than to give him a true full-time role. Trading Suzuki and "leaning into" Conforto would be a truly terrible decision.

Even Dodgers fans will hope that Cubs don't fall for Jeff Passan's out-of-touch Michael Conforto advice

There are other reasons the Cubs might feel moved to trade Suzuki. He's on an expiring deal and, despite starting the season on the IL, has been hitting like his usual self since returning: .270 with a .832 OPS, 16 homers, and 52 RBI. If Chicago can throw him into a considerable deal as a kicker, they should. However, "Conforto is available" is not and should not be a motivating factor.

Is he considerably better than he was last year with the Dodgers? Yes, absolutely. It didn't take a lot for that to be true. However, 66 games worth of just-above-replacement performance at the plate is not a sufficient replacement for 2.8 bWAR Suzuki. Alcantara's .200 average and .438 OPS in 19 games do not make him the answer either.

If the Cubs were to trade Suzuki and lean more heavily on Conforto, it would probably be great for the Dodgers if the two teams were to meet in October. By that logic, maybe LA fans should be rooting for it to happen.

But as a fanbase that suffered through 138 games of Conforto last year, we can't wish that on anyone else. Try again, Jeff Passan.

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