The Mets and Pirates have traded a couple of big leaguers. New York announced it has landed designated hitter/first baseman Daniel Vogelbach from the Bucs, trading reliever Colin Holderman in a one-for-one deal.
New York has been on the lookout for another addition to the lineup. Team president Sandy Alderson told the New York Post last week that they were looking for an upgrade at designated hitter. Vogelbach had recently emerged as a target, though Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports they’re still looking to add offense over the next ten days, even with him in the fold.
Vogelbach had a decent performance during his three months in the Steel City. Pittsburgh signed the rugged left-handed hitter to a modest $1 million guaranteed during spring training. That takes the form of an $800,000 salary, just under half of which remains to be paid, and at least a $200,000 buyout of a $1.5 million club option for next season. That option price seems more than reasonable considering how Vogelbach has performed, and he would also remain arbitration-eligible for the 2024 campaign.
The 29-year-old has 278 plate appearances in 75 games, hitting .228/.338/.430 with 12 home runs. It’s not an impressive batting average, but he’s walking at a massive 14.4% clip and he’s hitting for a lot of power. As measured by wRC+, Vogelbach’s production has been 18 percentage points above league average after accounting for the pitcher-friendly nature of PNC Park.
These kinds of numbers are par for the Vogelbach course. His .228 batting average this season is a career high, but he has participated in more than 15% of his career trips to the plate and typically posts above-average slugging production. His 30-homer season in 2019 seems a bit out of the ordinary, but Vogelbach is a career .234/.358/.459 hitter against right-handed pitching. He hasn’t done anything against lefties (.137/.258/.230 career line), but will add a lefty bullpen option to the mix for manager Buck Showalter.
Vogelbach’s pickup is the strongest indication yet that the Mets plan to move on from at least one of Dominic Smith or JD Davis. The first, as a left-handed bat, seems 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 deal him before the Aug. 2 trade deadline. Smith went 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 faces while inducing whiffs in a solid 12.4% of his offerings. Holderman has dished out a few free passes, but has averaged nearly 96 MPH on his plumb and has gotten strong swinging strike numbers on his mid-80s slider cutter.
Holderman has also performed well in Triple-A, posting a 2.51 ERA through 14 1/3 frames. The former ninth-round pick has fanned more than 30% of opponents in the minors this year, and has also induced ground balls at a whopping 63.6%. He has shown much better pitching acumen in Triple-A than he has in the big leagues thus far, making him an interesting upper-level bullpen addition for the Bucs.
Holderman is only in the first of a three-year minor league option, so the Pirates are free to move him between Pittsburgh and Triple-A Indianapolis over the next two seasons. He won’t reach arbitration eligibility until after the 2024 campaign at the earliest, and future optional assignments could push that trajectory back further.
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 the deal had been agreed upon, and was the first to report that the Pirates would receive Holderman in return.
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