With the MLB Draft and All-Star break over, the hot stove action should be pretty wild with the trade deadline not far away on Aug. 2. And the New York Mets (58-35) and Pittsburgh Pirates (39-54) got that trade action started on Friday night.
The Mets have acquired first baseman/designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach in exchange for relief pitcher Colin Holderman. The move was officially announced by each organization:
Mets general manager Billy Eppler had interesting comments on the trade:
Vogelbach, 29, is a fan favorite largely due to his very unique physique, listed at 6’0″, 270 pounds. But he’s a solid hitter that gets on base (.338 on-base percentage in 2022, .336 for his career) and slugs (.430 slugging percentage in 2022, .408 for his career) well above league-average clips (the MLB average OBP this season is .312, and the average SLG is .395). He has career-best wOBA (.337) and wRC+ (118) marks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8JvHrY_A0E
The left-handed slugger has particularly been good against right-handed pitching, rocking a .260/.365/.532 slash line and 149 wRC+ vs that arm side this season in 203 plate appearances. This is an area where he should really help the Mets’ offense.
Interestingly, the Mets gave up a rookie big-leaguer who’s done very well this season (usually in these types of trades, the buyer is looking to maintain any quality possible big-league help, but then again the Mets are pretty loaded on the pitching side of things and can always make more trades).
Holderman, 26, has a 2.04 ERA and 2.26 FIP this season in 17 2/3 innings pitched. The 6’7″ right-hander has averaged 96 mph on his fastball this season. He ranked 10th on the Mets’ top prospects list from FanGraphs (Eric Longenhagen) earlier this month.
So, on the surface, it’s a pretty sensible deal for both the buyer and seller.
Here’s a look at how baseball fans are reacting to the trade:
https://twitter.com/AnswerDave/status/1550612102922096642
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.