The Mets and Pirates traded a pair of major leaguers. New York announced they have acquired designated hitter/first baseman Daniel Fogelbach from the Bucks in exchange for reliever Collin Holderman in a one-for-one trade.
New York is on the hunt for another addition to the lineup. Team president Sandy Alderson told the New York Post last week that they are looking to promote the designated hitter. Vogelbach has emerged as a target recently, though Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that they’re still looking to add offense over the next ten days, even with him in the fold.
Vogelbach performed decently during his three months in the Steel City. Pittsburgh signed the hard-hitting lefty to a modest $1 million guarantee during spring training. That comes in the form of an $800K salary, just under half of which remains to be paid, and at least a $200K buyout of a $1.5MM club option for next season. That option price seems more than reasonable given how Vogelbach has performed, and he’ll remain arbitration-eligible for the 2024 campaign as well.
The 29-year-old has 278 plate appearances in 75 games, hitting .228/.338/.430 with 12 home runs. That’s not an impressive batting average, but he’s walking at a whopping 14.4% clip and hitting for strong power. As measured by wRC+, Vogelbach’s production is 18 percentage points above league average after accounting for the pitcher-friendly nature of PNC Park.
Such numbers are par for the course for Vogelbach. This season, his .228 batting average is a career high, but he has been involved in more than 15% of his career outings and has generally produced above-average hitting. His 30-homer season in 2019 looks like an outlier, but Vogelbach is a career .234/.358/.459 hitter against right-handed catching. He hasn’t done anything against southpaws (career .137/.258/.230 line), but will add a left-handed platoon option to the mix for manager Buck Showalter.
Vogelbach’s pickup is the firmest indication yet that the Mets plan to move on from at least one of Dominique Smith or JD Davis. The former, as a lefty, appears to be the player most displaced by the addition of Vogelbach. New York has already discussed Smith with teams like the Red Sox and Cubs, and SNY’s Andy Martino wrote this morning that they want to sign him before the Aug. 2 trade deadline. Smith landed on the 10-day disabled list yesterday, but could still be traded even if he doesn’t return to the field before then.
As for the Bucs, they will add a controllable arm that can step right into the major league bullpen. Holderman, 26, made his debut earlier this season. He has thrown 17 2/3 innings of 2.04 ERA ball, striking out an above-average 26.9% of the batters he has faced while inducing whiffs on a solid 12.4% of his pitches. Holderman has given away a few too many free passes, but he averages nearly 96 MPH on his sinker and has gotten strong swinging strikeout numbers on his mid-80s cutter slider.
Holderman also pitched well in Triple-A, posting a 2.51 ERA over 14 1/3 frames. The former ninth-round pick has fanned over 30% of opponents in the minors this year, while also inducing ground balls at a whopping 63.6% clip. He has shown far better pitching acumen in Triple-A than he has at the big league level thus far, making him an interesting addition to a higher-level bullpen for the Bucs.
Holderman is only in his first of three years with a minor league option, so the Pirates are free to shuttle him between Pittsburgh and Triple-A Indianapolis for the next few seasons. He won’t reach arbitration eligibility until after the 2024 campaign, and future optional assignments could push that trajectory even further back.
Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported that the Pirates were close to a deal to send Vogelbach to the Mets. Jon Heyman of the New York Post was the first to report that a deal had been agreed upon and was the first to report that the Pirates would receive Holderman in return.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
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