The Blue Jays got first baseman Daniel Vogelbach of the Mariners in exchange for casho considerations, announced both teams. Vogelbach was nominated earlier this week for commissioning following a .094 / .250 / .225 dash across his first 64-record appearances of the 2020 season.
It was a little over a year ago that Vogelbach enjoyed a selection for the All-Star Game and apparently cemented his promotion as the first baseman / DH of the future of the Mariners. A red-hot start to the 2019 season was followed by a steep decline, however, as Vogelbach hit only .162 / .297 / .344 over his last 310-record appearance.
A second-round pick for the Cubs in the 2011 draft, Vogelbach was an excluded prospect behind Anthony Rizzo in Chicago, and he was sent to the Ms as part of the July 2016 trade that brought Mike Montgomery to the Cubs. Seattle had hoped that Vogelbach would build on his impressive small league numbers and become a power bat at the MLB level, although that breakout just did not come as he has a .196 / .326 / .397 career slash line over 768 PA and has mainly struggled (career .547 OPS) against pitching with links.
It is probably safe to assume that Toronto did not hand over much cash in the trade, making this a fairly low risk purchase for the Jays. However, the addition of Vogelbach gives the club a third player (further Vladimir Guerrero Jr. en Rowdy Tellez) who can only play first base as DH, plus Vogelbach and Tellez are both left-handed clubs. It doesn’t provide a lot of obvious fit unless the Blue Jays just want some extra depth for the bench or even down on their alternate training site.
