Mets, pirates exchange Daniel Vogelbach, Colin Holdman

The Mets and Pirates swapped a pair of top leagues. New York announced that it has landed the designated hitter/first baseman Daniel Fogelbach From Bucs, trade savior Colin Holdman In a one-on-one deal.

New York was looking for another addition to the lineup. Team leader Sandy Alderson told the New York Post last week They were seeking a promotion in the designated hitter. Vogelbach recently emerged as a target, despite John Heyman of the New York Post Reports They were still looking forward to adding the insult over the next ten days even with him in the fold.

Vogelbach did well during his three months in Steel City. Pittsburgh signed the powerful left hitter with a modest $1 million guarantee during spring training. That takes the form of an $800,000 salary, of which just under half is left, and at least $200,000 for the club’s $1.5 million option for next season. That option price seems more than reasonable given Vogelbach’s performance, and it will still be eligible to judge in the 2024 campaign as well.

The 29-year-old has made 278 appearances for the board in 75 games, posting .228/.338/.430 with 12 home runs. It’s not an impressive hit rate, but he walks with a massive 14.4% clip and hits for solid power. As measured by the WRC+ scale, Vogelbach’s yield was 18 percentage points higher than the league average after accounting for PNC Park’s pitcher-friendly nature.

These types of numbers are equivalent to the Vogelbach path. His batting average of 0.228 for the season is the highest of his career, but he’s walked over 15% of his career trips to the plate and usually posts above average production. His 30-man season in 2019 feels a little weird, but Vogelbach is his .234/.358/.459 hitter against the right pitch. It did nothing against southpaws (career .137/.258/.230 lines), but it would add a left-handed platoon option to the Director Buck Showalter mix.

The Vogelbach pickup is the strongest indication of the Mets’ plan to move from at least one Dominic Smith or J.D. Davis. The first, as a left-handed bat, appears 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 Andy Martino from SNY He wrote this morning that they are looking to deal with it before the August 2 trading deadline. Smith made it onto the 10-day injury list yesterday, but he can still be traded even if he hasn’t been back on the field before then.

As for Bucs, they will add a controllable arm that can directly enter the main league arena. Holderman, 26, made his debut earlier this season. He threw 17 2/3 innings from 2.04 ERA balls, averaging over 26.9% of hits while batting 12.4% of his showings. Holderman distributed quite a few free passes, but averaged about 96 mph on his weight and had strong swing-hitting numbers in the cutter slider in the mid-1980s.

Holderman also did well in Triple-A, spreading a 2.51 ERA through 14 1/3 frames. The previous ninth-round pick has thrilled over 30% of opponents in the minors this year, also spurring the balls with a whopping 63.6% clip. He has shown much better throwing acumen in Triple-A than he has at the big league level thus far, which makes him an interesting top-tier addition to Bucs.

Holderman was only in his first three years in the minor league, so the Buccaneers could freely move him between Pittsburgh and Triple A Indianapolis for the next two seasons. It will not reach judging eligibility until after the 2024 campaign at the earliest, and future elective appointments may set that path back even further.

Jason McKee of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette We were first informed that the pirates were about to strike a deal to send Vogelbach to the Mets. John Heyman from the New York Post He was the first to report the deal that was agreed, and he was first to report The pirate will receive Holderman in return.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.