The New York Mets have acquired designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for right-handed reliever Colin Holderman. The teams announced the deal on Twitter.
Vogelbach, 29, hit .228/.338/.430 (117 OPS+) with 12 home runs in 75 games with the Pirates. Dating back to the start of the pandemic, he's batted .221/.341/.404 (105 OPS+) while appearing in games with four different teams: the Pirates, of course, as well as the Seattle Mariners, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Milwaukee Brewers.
Vogelbach has had extreme platoon splits throughout his career. He's hit for an .817 OPS against righties and just a .489 mark against lefties. The Mets will presumably view him as an upgrade over Dominic Smith, who has struggled since a seeming breakout effort in 2019. In other words, expect Vogelbach to platoon at DH with J.D. Davis. (Smith, for his part, has been on the block off and on for years.)
The Mets entered Friday with a 58-35 record on the regular season, giving them a 2 ½ game lead in the National League East over the Atlanta Braves. The Mets will kick off the second half on Friday night by hosting the San Diego Padres for three games.
In Holderman, 26, the Pirates are nabbing a rookie right-handed reliever who has amassed a 2.04 ERA (200 ERA+) and a 2.57 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 17 innings. His game is dependent on sinkers and sliders/cutters, with the latter accumulating a whiff rate north of 40 percent so far in what is a small sample size.
The Pirates, 39-54, will also begin the second half of their schedule on Friday night by playing host for three games against the Miami Marlins.
