Series vs Cubs showed why Dodgers stuck with Michael Conforto throughout 2025 season

Michael Conforto returned to LA over the weekend as a member of the visiting Cubs. He received his World Series ring during batting practice (despite not appearing in the World Series or in any other postseason series), a quiet, official sendoff fitting for one of the Dodgers' worst free agent signings in recent memory.

Dodgers fans have no need to hold a grudge anymore, really, given that the front office got the best possible upgrade to Conforto in Kyle Tucker, but thinking back on the magnitude of awfulness in his one-year stint is still hard for fans to get around. It was as much his fault for underperforming as it was the front office and management's for insisting on keeping him around. He played in 138 games, making him by some metrics the game's worst qualified player.

But on Saturday, after Conforto got on base with a pinch-hit single, the FOX broadcast caught Kiké Hernández joking with his former teammate from the dugout and urging him to do the Dodgers' classic Dragon Ball Z hit celebration.

Conforto, of course, declined, but it was an endearing moment for a guy who was not well-liked by fans, to say the least.

Michael Conforto, Kiké Hernández share nice moment during Dodgers-Cubs reunion

The Dodgers have a reputation around baseball for taking good care of their veterans. It's probably why they kept Chris Taylor and Austin Barnes around as long as they did. Conforto's full year of service with the Dodgers was a key step toward a 10-year benchmark that should earn him pension from MLB, and he now has less than a year to go.

Whether or not he actually manages to get there from here is up to him and Cubs, but it was a quiet, kind gesture from the Dodgers — and, clearly, he was liked in LA's clubhouse.

The way the Cubs have been using Conforto since he signed a minor league deal and then broke the major league team is the way that Dodgers fans wished he'd been used last season. He's played in 15 games with only the occasional start, and despite going hitless through his first four appearances, he's unlocked something as a pinch-hitter or substitute, batting .444 with a 1.171 since that start to his season.

If we had to bet, we'd say he probably won't last the entire season in Chicago, and we'll still hold a little bit of a grudge, but it was touching to see that the Dodgers still view him as one of their own, even for a second.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow