In the off-season, the Chicago Cubs signed outfielder Michael Conforto to a minor-league contract. At the time, this seemed like a head-scratching move. Conforto was coming off the worst season of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Cubs already had a crowded outfield. But amidst the Cubs’ current 9-game winning streak, the addition of Conforto is now proving its dividends.

Everything working against Conforto

As mentioned, the 33-year-old put together an abysmal season with the Dodgers in 2025. In an everyday starting role, he posted a career-low slash line across the board of .199/.305/.333. So this offseason, the outfielder was likely viewed as either his best years are behind him, or he could be a reclamation project. Conforto was a former first-round pick back in 2014 who was an All-Star in 2017 and hit a career-high 33 home runs in 2019, so the Cubs took a flier on him.

The question of where and when Conforto would play still remained. The Cubs outfield was locked into place with Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Seiya Suzuki starting in left, center, and right field, respectively. So, barring a serious injury, Conforto was looking at a platoon role as opposed to starting every day like he had been accustomed to throughout his career. Not to mention, the Cubs had also already been working with Matt Shaw on learning to play the outfield to find him more playing time.

Ultimately, Conforto broke Spring Training with the Cubs and was on the big-league roster. The outfielder did not get off to a favorable start. Conforto started his season 0-6 with five strikeouts and one walk. Radio shows and social media were questioning why Conforto was even on the roster and getting at-bats. It took Conforto till his fifth game to get his first hit as a Cub on April 5^th against the Cleveland Guardians.

Conforto goes from zero to hero

After getting off the schneid, Conforto has drastically turned things around at the plate and seems to have bought into his role off the bench. Since the start of April, Conforto is hitting a scorching .433 with two home runs and eight RBIs in 38 plate appearances. His two home runs came in just the last four games, and both helped keep the Cubs’ win streak alive.

On Monday night, the Cubs entered the bottom of the ninth, trailing the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3. After Nico Hoerner tied the game at 4-4, driving in Crow-Armstrong on a sacrifice fly, manager Craig Counsell pinch-hit Conforto for Shaw. Conforto delivered with a walk-off, 426-foot home run to left center field to win the game, 5-4.

In Thursday’s game against the Reds, Conforto drew the start for Suzuki, who got the day off. The outfielder took advantage of his opportunity and got the scoring started with a 424-foot solo home run to right-center field. Conforto went on to post his first three-hit game as a Cub, going three for four with a walk, two RBIs, and two runs scored.

While the home runs and heroics draw all the headlines, Conforto has been a great platoon piece for the Cubs. He can take an at-bat in a pinch off the bench, or he can make a start in the outfield to give someone a breather. That’s a luxury, looking back to last season, that the Cubs frankly didn’t have.