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Heading into spring training, the Pittsburgh Pirates still had a glaring need for more offense; so, naturally, they brought in a guy who hit .186/.278/.300 and got released after 31 games last season to help coach their hitters. That ought to help.
The Pirates continued their trend of unnecessary coaching hires this offseason by hiring Daniel Vogelbach, who spent half a season with Pittsburgh in 2022, as a special assistant to the hitting department... whatever that means. Most likely, it's a favor from new Pirates hitting coach Matt Hague, who worked with Vogelbach during his stint with the Toronto Blue Jays last season.
Pirates make up another fake position and welcome back former player Daniel Vogelbach
Around this time last year, Vogelbach signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Blue Jays and went on to start the 2024 season in a designated hitter platoon with veteran Justin Turner. However, his .186 batting average in 79 plate appearances got him designated for assignment in early June.
A nine-year MLB veteran, Vogelbach has a career slash line of .219/.340/.405 batting line with 63 doubles, 81 home runs and 246 RBI over 602 games. He spent the first half of the 2022 season with Pittsburgh, where he slashed .228/.338/.430 with 10 doubles, 12 home runs and 34 RBI in 75 games. He also recorded the only triple of his career while with the Pirates – no small feat, considering he measured in at 6 feet and 270 pounds at the time and didn't exactly exhibit gazelle-like speed on the base paths.
Vogelbach was dealt to the New York Mets at the 2022 trade deadline in exchange for right-handed reliever Colin Holderman. The Pirates netted a promising pitcher with team control, while the Mets inherited one of the biggest trade busts under former general manager Billy Eppler.
Vogelbach, originally selected by the Chicago Cubs in the second round (No. 68 overall) of the 2011 MLB Draft, also played for the Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers during his career. He was an All-Star with Seattle in 2019.
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