If Michael Conforto isn’t back with SF Giants, has he proven enough to cash in this winter?

SAN DIEGO — As a pending free agent surrounded by younger, cheaper and some more productive players at his own position, Michael Conforto may not fit into the Giants’ plans for 2025. And yet, on Saturday the veteran outfielder was back in their starting lineup, while Marco Luciano and Luis Matos rode the pine.

“It’s a balance,” manager Bob Melvin said. “It depends on who we’re playing, and we’re playing a lot of teams that are right in the middle of the playoffs. And it’s also a balance of developing guys, too. So there’s going to be a balance to that.”

Even if the Giants find themselves out of contention, if not mathematically eliminated, Melvin shares Bruce Bochy’s mindset that they owe it to the game to put out a competitive lineup, particularly when all of their remaining games come against teams fighting for postseason positioning.

At the same time, the organization acknowledges that the best use of these final three weeks is to evaluate the players they expect to fit into the picture next season.

That may not include Conforto, who doesn’t have a clear spot in the Giants’ crowded group of outfielders between the emergence of Heliot Ramos, the anticipated return of Jung Hoo Lee and the presence of others such as Matos, Grant McCray and Mike Yastrzemski (who himself could be non-tendered if the Giants opt to lean into their youth movement).

“I’m obviously open to (re-signing). I like it here,” said Conforto, a Seattle native who went to college at Oregon State. “But I think a lot of things have to happen in the offseason, and we won’t know how realistic that is until the end of the dead of the offseason.”

When Conforto signed his two-year, $36 million contract before the 2023 season, he was less than a year removed from surgery on his throwing shoulder that cost him the entire 2022 season. He hoped to prove that he was not only back to full health but the same offensive force that posted a 128 OPS+ through his first six big-league seasons with the Mets.

He’s checked off one box and hopes his potential suitors this offseason recognize the progress made toward the second.

“As far as production, no,” Conforto said. “But physically, yeah. It’s crazy to think back on last year and I was just hoping to start the season on Opening Day. This year, it’s like not even a thought. … It’s more about going out and competing and winning games — not hoping to stay healthy.”

While Conforto was first and foremost disappointed with the Giants’ position in the standings and his contributions to that end — a .220 average and .660 OPS with runners in scoring position track with the team’s overall numbers — individually he sees the underlying numbers that indicate there’s more left in the tank.

“I wish I would have played better in some big games for us and feel like there were some hits left on the board,” he said. “But overall I feel like I’ve been hitting the ball harder, doing more damage than last year. So I do feel like a lot of those things are coming back.”

Besides a brief absence with a strained hamstring, Conforto has stayed healthy all season while besting most of his numbers from last year. His solo home run that provided the Giants their only run in Friday’s loss was his 16th of the season, his most since he slugged 33 in 2019, and his 112 OPS+ is also a marked improvement.

His .384 slugging percentage last season matched the career-low he posted in his final season with the Mets, but this season it has jumped to .437 that puts him behind only Ramos and Matt Chapman among teammates with as many at-bats.

Additionally, his .301 average and .931 OPS against left-handed pitchers are career-highs, and he is making harder contact on average — 90 mph — than all but his first two big-league seasons. His bat speed ranks in the 79th percentile league-wide, in line with the percentage of balls he is barreling up, which ranked in the bottom half of the league last year.

“When he got injured for a while, that set him back some, but he’s driving some balls, he’s hitting lefties, a lot of good things,” Melvin said. “Compared his shoulder last year, I think it’s a little different for him. There’s still some time left and he can accomplish some pretty good numbers.”

After acknowledging that last year he lost his legs in the second half, Conforto said he’s confident he could play deep into October this year, even if the possibility isn’t likely to present itself. He said he’s treating the final three weeks of the season no differently than if the stakes were higher.

“Obviously the circumstances are a little bit different than a couple weeks ago, but in terms of preparing for the game and what I’m in the box trying to do, it’s no different,” he said. “I’m really just trying to finish the season strong and enjoy my time with the guys.”