According to Robert Murray of FanSided, the Toronto Blue Jays have signed 1B/DH Daniel Vogelbach to a MiLB deal. This is the best case scenario for the Blue Jays as Vogelbach will not take a 40-man roster spot immediately and will have the opportunity to prove his worth in Spring Training. He’ll be able to make his case during the spring and a decision will be made after the fact. Blue Jays fans may recall that the 31-year-old Vogelbach had a short stint with Toronto in the 2020 season.
The Strengths and Weaknesses of Vogey
Given that Daniel Vogelbach is on the 40-man roster on Opening Day, his role will likely be limited to being an option off the bench against righties in the late innings of ball games. The slugger had a 119 wRC+ and .780 OPS against RHP in 2023. His 13 long balls in limited ABs is another reason to be optimistic. Plus, when Justin Turner is playing one of his rare days at 3B, Vogelbach can fill in the spot at DH and provide quality PAs. His ability to get on base via BBs is another asset that the Blue Jays can utilize. With the Blue Jays’ team OBP at .329 last season, Vogelbach’s marks of .360 and .339 over the last 2 seasons can increase that number drastically.
While Vogelbach excels in hitting for power and being disciplined at the dish, he lacks the ability to play competent defence and is one of the slowest baserunners in MLB (2nd percentile in Sprint Speed in 2023, per Baseball Savant). The Blue Jays will rarely put him in the position to perform in either of these two areas in 2024.
Escobar and Vogelbach: A Dynamic Duo?
Toronto’s bench was looking grim before the signings of Eduardo Escobar and Daniel Vogelbach. Before both deals, the bench was to be filled by Santiago Espinal, Spencer Horwitz, and Nathan Lukes, to name a few. Assuming both veterans in Escobar and Vogelbach are set to play on Opening Day, the bench would receive a mighty boost. Escobar’s ability to crush southpaws combined with Vogelbach’s excellence against right-handers allows the two to complement each other really well.
Low-Risk, High-Reward
In conclusion, this is another low-risk, high-reward deal made by the Toronto front office. While Daniel Vogelbach may not be a needle-moving transaction, he still improves the team and the quality of the bench. It can be assumed that this stint with the Blue Jays will be quite a ways longer than the one Vogelbach experienced in the shortened 2020 season.