Mariners trade former All-Star designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach to Blue Jays for cash considerations
The Mariners announced Sunday evening they have traded former designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach, their only All-Star selection a season ago, to the Blue Jays for cash considerations.
Vogelbach, 27, was designated for assignment Wednesday after hitting just 5-for-53 (.094) to open the season. He recorded a double, two home runs and 11 walks to 13 strikeouts in 18 games with the Mariners this year.
“His strength is in the batter’s box, and hopefully hitting it over the fence, but he doesn’t bring a whole lot other than the bat, and when that’s your big carrying tool, you have to hit,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said last week. “It’s a do-good league, and where we’re at right now, we’re just going to give you know some of those at-bats and opportunities to some other players.”
Vogelbach spent parts of five big league seasons with Seattle after he was acquired from the Cubs in the Jordan Pries and Mike Montgomery trade ahead of the deadline in 2016. He hit .196/.326/.397 in 223 games with the Mariners over those five seasons, with 21 doubles, 36 homers, 95 RBI and 120 walks to 203 strikeouts.
He spent much of his first three seasons with the organization bouncing between Triple-A Tacoma and Seattle. He made his major league debut for the Mariners about two months after his arrival, but spent most of the following season with the Rainiers.
He was a career .281 (256-for-910) hitter in parts of three seasons with Tacoma with 145 runs scored, 48 doubles, 44 homers, 192 RBI and 195 walks to 191 strikeouts, but his impressive production in Triple-A was fleeting in Seattle.
The 2019 season was his best with the Mariners. Out of minor league options, Seattle vowed to give Vogelbach the opportunity to log a season’s worth of at-bats at the major league level to see how he could fit into their plans moving forward.
He slashed at .238/.375/.505 in the first half with 21 of his team-leading 30 homers, 11 doubles and 51 RBI on the way to his first All-Star nod. But, his production dipped in the second half, and he finished hitting .208/.341/.439 through 144 games, while also appearing in 57 at first base.
“Vogey had a tremendous first half of the season last year, and we all got on the Vogey train, so to speak,” Servais said last week. “We all love Vogey. It’s a great personality, it’s a guy you want to spend time with and be around, he’s a really good teammate, and he was doing some great things for us early in the season last year. In the second half of the season, certainly, it took another turn and he really struggled.”
His bat didn’t fully regroup in spring training or summer camp, and it wasn’t until his ninth game this season he hit the first of his two homers.
Servais noted last week when the club designated Vogelbach for assignment how this departure would be particularly tough given the positive impact Vogelbach has had on the clubhouse.
“It’s always difficult when you’re talking to a player that you have a tie with, and I’m of the biggest Vogey backers out there,” he said then. “I love what he brings to a clubhouse and a team, and he truly does care about the team. He’s never been one of those guys that’s been all about him. He is a team guy through and through.”
Vogelbach wrote a heartfelt post on his Instagram account after the trade was announced, thanking Seattle for giving him his start in the majors.
This story was originally published August 23, 2020 at 7:36 PM.
