The Toronto Blue Jays announced that they designated DH Daniel Vogelbach for assignment on Friday. It brings an end to his short tenure with Toronto, which didn’t last half a season. In 31 games this year, Vogelbach had a .186 average with one homer, eight RBI, and a .578 OPS. For someone added to the roster for his pop, those numbers were nowhere near satisfactory for Toronto. In a corresponding move with Daniel Vogelbach’s DFA, the Blue Jays recalled the young shortstop Addison Barger from Triple-A Buffalo.
ROSTER MOVES:
? UTIL Addison Barger recalled from Triple-A and will be active for tonight’s game
? DH Daniel Vogelbach designated for assignment pic.twitter.com/zzU4e8yNxt
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 14, 2024
Blue Jays DFA Daniel Vogelbach
Toronto signed Vogelbach in February, inking him to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. He made the team out of camp, but did not fare as well at the plate as the Blue Jays hoped.
A nine-year MLB veteran, Vogelbach first came up with the Seattle Mariners in 2016 and spent four full seasons with them and part of a fifth. This included his career-best season in 2019. Despite an unimpressive .208 average, he slugged 30 home runs and drove in 76 runs. With his 92 walks helping drive up his OPS, Vogelbach made his only All-Star team that year.
After starting the shortened 2020 season with Seattle, Vogelbach later played for the Blue Jays (albeit for only two games) and the Milwaukee Brewers that year. He stayed in Milwaukee through 2021, and then split 2022 between the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets. New York retained Vogelbach last season, in which he appeared in 104 games, before he re-signed in Toronto this spring.
For his career, Vogelbach has a .219 average with 81 homers, 246 RBI, and a .745 OPS. Assuming his days in Toronto are indeed over, whichever team picks him up will hope the big lefty can re-capture some of the pop he had five seasons ago.
Photo Credit: © Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
