Mets to pick up Daniel Vogelbach’s club option

The Mets are reportedly picking up Daniel Vogelbach’s $1.5M club option for the 2023 season, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Acquired in a midseason trade from the Pirates, Vogelbach slashed a strong .255/.393/.436 in New York to finish his 2022 season with a collective .238/.360/.433 line with 18 homers across the two teams. Interestingly, Vogelbach spent the 2022 season as full-time DH, logging only five innings at first base after playing over 400 innings at the corner infield position in 2021.

After a breakout year in 2019 with Seattle where he hit .208/.341/.439 with 30 homers and earned a trip to the All-Star game, Vogelbach has bounced around the league, spending time with the Blue Jays, Brewers, Pirates, and now the Mets. He has largely become a platoon player, hitting .261/.382/.497 against right-handed pitchers in 2022, compared to .139/.262/.153 against lefties.

Vogelbach, who has one more arbitration-eligible season after 2023, may become a trade candidate for the Mets, who currently have three other 1B/DH options on their 40-man Roster in Darin Ruf, Dominic Smith, and starter Pete Alonso. However, out of the trio of backups, Vogelbach had the strongest 2022 season and GM Billy Eppler might opt to keep him as a left-handed bench bat.