Daniel Vogelbach

Daniel Taylor Vogelbach (born December 17, 1992) is an American professional baseball designated hitter who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and New York Mets.

Vogelbach was born and raised in the Fort Myers, Florida area where he attended Bishop Verot High School and played varsity baseball. He passed on his commitment to play college baseball for the University of Florida when he was drafted in the second round of the 2011 MLB draft by the Chicago Cubs. After spending multiple seasons in the Cubs farm system, Vogelbach was traded to the Mariners in July 2016 and made his MLB debut with them two months later.

Between 2016 and 2018, Vogelbach received sporadic playing time at the major league level and was frequently sent down to the minor leagues. In 2019, Vogelbach played a career-high 144 games and received an All-Star selection for his contributions at first base and designated hitter. After starting the shortened 2020 season batting .094, Vogelbach was designated for assignment by the Mariners. He played a brief two-game stint with the Blue Jays before he was waived, finishing out the 2020 season with the Brewers and remaining with the team for the 2021 season, after which he was non-tendered. Vogelbach signed with the Pirates as a free agent in 2022, and was traded to the Mets midway through the season. The Mets non-tendered him after the 2023 season, and he signed as a free agent with the Blue Jays in February 2024.

Amateur career
Vogelbach attended Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers, Florida. He committed to play college baseball at the University of Florida. As a senior in high school, he had a .551 batting average with nine home runs and was The News-Press All-Area Baseball Player of the Year. At the time, he was listed at 5 ft tall and weighing 285 lb.

Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs selected Vogelbach in the second round of the 2011 MLB draft. He made his professional debut with the Arizona League Cubs. In six games, he had a .292 average with one home run in 24 at bats. In 2012, Vogelbach started the season with the Arizona League Cubs and was promoted to the Boise Hawks during the season. At the time, he weighed over 300 lb. He finished the season with a slash line of .322/.410/.641 with 17 home runs and 62 runs batted in over 245 at bats in 61 games. In 2013, Vogelbach started the season with the Kane County Cougars and was promoted to the Daytona Cubs near the end of the season. He finished the year with a .284/.375/.449 slash line with 19 home runs over 483 at bats in 131 games.

Prior to the 2014 season, he lost over 30 lb to help improve his defense, and escape being labelled a "designated-hitter-only". In 2014, he batted .268 for the Daytona Cubs. After the season, Cubs added him to their 40-man roster. He played for the Tennessee Smokies of the Class AA Southern League in 2015. Vogelbach began the 2016 season with the Iowa Cubs of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL).

Seattle Mariners
On July 20, 2016, the Cubs traded Vogelbach and Paul Blackburn to the Seattle Mariners for Mike Montgomery and Jordan Pries. Eric Longenhagen wrote in Fangraphs: "He’s not a good athlete and has issues with range, footwork, flexibility, and throwing accuracy. He’ll make the occasional, spectacular-looking, effort-based play but hasn’t shown enough technical refinement in his five pro seasons to convince scouts he can play a position... [he has] a complete lack of defensive or base-running value."

The Mariners assigned him to the Tacoma Rainiers of the PCL, and promoted him to the major leagues on September 12, after the Rainiers were eliminated from the PCL postseason. He made his major-league debut later that night as a pinch-hitter against the Los Angeles Angels, grounding into a fielder's choice in his first at bat. The next night, he got the first start and first hit of his MLB career, recording a single to right in his third plate appearance. In 2016 in the major leagues, Vogelbach accrued a .083/.154/.183 slash line without any home runs in 8 games.

In 2017, when playing for the Tacoma Rainiers, Vogelbach hit .290 with 17 home runs and 83 RBI. Vogelbach also participated in the Triple-A home run derby. He made it all the way to the final round before finally losing to Bryce Brentz of the Pawtucket Red Sox. In August 2017, Vogelbach was called up to the major leagues. He was used for the remainder of the season as a pinch hitter and backup first baseman, as the Mariners already had Yonder Alonso and Danny Valencia covering first base duties. In MLB during 2017, Vogelbach slashed .214/.290/.250 without any home runs in 28 at bats.

In 2018, Vogelbach hit .207/.324/.368 for Seattle in 87 at bats.

Vogelbach made the Mariners' 2019 Opening Day roster. In 2019, he had a slash line of .208/.341/.439 with 30 home runs and 76 RBIs. He was thrown the highest percentage of curveballs of all American League batters (13.2%), and swung at the lowest percentage of all pitches of all major league batters (34.1%). Vogelbach represented the Mariners in the 2019 MLB All-Star Game.

On August 19, 2020, Vogelbach was designated for assignment by the Mariners after he began the season batting 5-for-53 (.094/.250/.226) in 18 games, as a designated hitter and pinch hitter. Overall in parts of five seasons with Seattle, Vogelbach batted .196 with 36 home runs and 95 RBIs in 223 games.

Toronto Blue Jays
On August 23, 2020, the Toronto Blue Jays acquired Vogelbach for cash considerations. He was hitless for the Blue Jays in 4 at bats, with a walk and two strikeouts. On September 1, 2020, Vogelbach was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays.

Milwaukee Brewers
On September 3, 2020, Vogelbach was claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers. In 19 games with the 2020 Brewers, Vogelbach slashed .328/.418/.569 with four home runs, playing 16 games as a DH, two at first base, and one as a pinch hitter.

He returned to the Brewers for 2021. On June 23, he was placed on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring strain, was transferred to the 60-day injured list on August 22, and was activated on September 1. For the 2021 season, he slashed .219/.349/.381 with nine home runs and 24 RBIs in 93 games, playing 59 games at first base, 36 games as a pinch hitter, and 3 games as a DH. When he played first base, his arm strength was in the bottom 1% in the major leagues. On November 30, Vogelbach was non-tendered by the Brewers, making him a free agent.

Pittsburgh Pirates
On March 15, 2022, Vogelbach signed a one-year contract with a team option for a second year with the Pittsburgh Pirates. On May 17, Vogelbach hit the first triple of his career off of Keegan Thompson of the Chicago Cubs. In 75 games with the Pirates, he batted .228 with 12 home runs and 34 RBIs, playing 68 games at DH, 10 as a pinch hitter, and 5 at first base.

New York Mets
On July 22, 2022, the Pirates traded Vogelbach to the New York Mets for Colin Holderman. On August 3, 2022, Vogelbach hit his first home run as a Met, a grand slam off of Washington Nationals reliever Jordan Weems in Nationals Park, becoming the 11th Mets player to hit a grand slam as his first home run with the team. In 2022 for the Mets he batted .255, as a designated hitter and pinch hitter. His sprint speed was in the bottom 2% in the major leagues. In the post-season he was hitless in seven at bats.

On November 6, the Mets exercised their option with him for the 2023 season. In 2023 for the Mets he hit .233/.339/.404, as a designated hitter and pinch hitter. For the second season in a row, his sprint speed was in the bottom 2% in the major leagues. On November 17, 2023, Vogelbach was non-tendered and became a free agent.

Toronto Blue Jays (second stint)
On February 16, 2024, Vogelbach signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. On March 24, it was announced that Vogelbach had made the Blue Jays' Opening Day roster. The Blue Jays selected his contract on March 28. In 31 games for Toronto, he batted .186/.278/.300 with one home run and eight RBI. On June 14, after Addison Barger was recalled from Triple-A, Vogelbach was designated for assignment. He was released by the organization on June 18.