Mariners designate scuffling 2019 All-Star Daniel Vogelbach for assignment
Aug 19, 2020, 3:23 PM
Daniel Vogelbach is hitting .094 with two home runs in 18 games this season. (Getty)
(Getty)
The Mariners tenure of slugger Daniel Vogelbach may be at its end.
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Seattle announced ahead of a five-game homestand Wednesday afternoon that it has designated the 27-year-old first baseman/designated hitter for assignment. That was one of a handful of roster moves the Mariners made, along with:
• Outfielder Braden Bishop and infielder Sam Haggerty recalled from the team’s alternate training site in Tacoma.
• Right-handed reliever Art Warren optioned to Tacoma.
• Right-handed reliever Bryan Shaw outrighted to Tacoma after clearing waivers following his own DFA last week.
The big news is of course Vogelbach, who was something of a phenomenon in the first half of the 2019 MLB season for the Mariners, his first full campaign in the big leagues. Over 85 games before the All-Star break, he hit .238 with 21 home runs, 51 RBIs, 61 walks, an impressive .375 on-base percentage and .881 OPS, earning him the nod as Seattle’s lone representative in the MLB All-Star Game in Cleveland.
Unfortunately it’s been all downhill since then.
Vogelbach hit just .162 with nine home runs, a .286 on-base percentage and .626 OPS in the remaining 59 games he appeared in after the All-Star break in 2019, striking out 70 times to just 31 walks. It hasn’t gotten any better in the shortened 2020 season, either. In 64 plate appearances over 18 games, he’s hitting just .094 with two home runs, 11 walks, 13 strikeouts, a .250 on-base percentage and .226 slugging percentage, adding up to a .476 OPS.
The poor numbers at the plate made it pretty hard for the Mariners to keep Vogelbach on their active roster as he’s not a strong defender and Seattle has a Gold Glove candidate in rookie Evan White now playing first base. As a result, Vogelbach’s only appearances this season have come as the team’s DH or as a pinch hitter.
There’s no guarantee this is the end of Vogelbach in Seattle, however. He could be outrighted to Tacoma like Shaw was if Seattle doesn’t find a trade partner for him or he clears waivers without another team claiming his contract.
The Mariners acquired Vogelbach in a midseason trade with the Cubs in 2016, general manager Jerry Dipoto’s first year with the team. Seattle sent left-handed pitcher Mike Montgomery to Chicago in the four-player deal. Vogelbach was drafted by the Cubs in 2011 as an 18-year-old. He made his MLB debut in eight games with the Mariners in 2016, then appeared in 16 big league games in 2017 and 37 in 2018 before becoming a regular member of the team’s starting lineup last year.
Haggerty and Bishop, both 26, are joining the Mariners’ roster for the first time this season. Haggerty played 11 games with the Mets last year, his first MLB season, and Bishop debuted with Seattle in 2019, playing in 27 games.
Warren was called up for the first time this season Tuesday but did not appear in a game before being sent back to Tacoma.
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