Stephen Vogt Heading to Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed veteran catcher Stephen Vogt (pronounced “Vote”) to a one-year contract for 2020, the team announced in a press release Tuesday night. This brings the number of players on the 40-man roster back to 40.
Vogt entered the league in 2012 with the Tampa Bay Rays, the team who drafted him out of Azusa Pacific University in 2007. He joined the Oakland Athletics in 2013, staying there until they designated him for assignment in June of 2017. The Milwaukee Brewers picked him up, and he played 45 games there. After playing all of three AA-rehab games in 2018 due to a shoulder injury, he joined the San Francisco Giants for the 2019 season.
The 35-year-old came to the team for his left-handed bat, versatility, and solid veteran leadership, Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen stated in a conference call. The team talked to the Giants at length about Vogt’s personality, and they also spoke to several former teammates, according to Hazen. Hazen also said that the defense is still important, but “we need to continue to push our offense in any way that we can.”
Career of Stephen Vogt
The two-time Major League All-Star (2015 and ’16) has put up some solid offensive numbers since 2015. When taking stats as a catcher only, Vogt ranks, since 2015, fourth in slugging percentage (.457), seventh in OPS (.780), and eighth in average (.264). Since entering the majors in 2012, he has hit .253 (480 for 1898) with 106 doubles, 11 triples, 67 home runs, 258 RBI, 159 walks, a .315 wOBA, and 211 runs scored in 620 games.
With the Giants in 2019, he played in 99 games. He slashed .263/.314/.490 (67 for 255) with 24 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 40 RBI, 20 walks, a .331 wOBA, and 30 runs scored. His weakness since 2017 has been throwing out base stealers. In 2017, he threw out 15% in Oakland and 13% in Milwaukee, while the league average in each league was 27%. In San Francisco in 2019, he threw out 17% of base stealers while the league average was 26%.
Vogt will probably play a backup role, with starting catcher Carson Kelly getting about 2/3 of the games, according to Hazen. He also can play as a corner outfielder or first baseman.
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