Milwaukee Brewers: Daniel Vogelbach should be on roster no matter what
When the PECOTA Standings were released, there were six teams picked to win at least 90 games. None of those teams represents the National League Central. The Milwaukee Brewers were picked to win the Central by the slimmest margin of any of the division leaders. At $1.2M, the Brewers need to find a home on the roster for Daniel Vogelbach regardless of whether the NL adopts the designated hitter this year.
While the Cardinals added Nolan Arenado, the Cubs and Reds lost more talent than they brought in over the offseason. The Pirates aren’t even trying. The Brewers are in prime position to win the division and are fortunate enough to have some leeway in personnel movements throughout the season.
The Milwaukee Brewers need to have Daniel Vogelbach on the opening day roster as a big left-handed bat off the bench.
Don’t let his stint in 2020 with the Brewers fool you. Daniel Vogelbach is not a .328 hitter. Spread over the course of a full season he is not going to have an OPS of .987, as he did in the 19 games after joining the Brew Crew last year.
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Dan is a career .203 hitter, who probably strikes out more than he should, and is relegated to playing first base in the National League. The Brewers trusted him at first base for just 15 innings in 2020, however, as most of his playing time was at DH.
Why should the Brewers keep him, moving forward?
Vogelbach is cheap and has potential. In Triple-A in 2018, he had an OPS of .979. The following year with the Mariners, he was an All-Star and hit 30 home runs. To my knowledge, baseball still likes guys who can hit the ball a mile, even if it comes at the expense of their batting average.
Keston Hiura is tabbed as the first baseman to open the year. He had an OPS of .707 a year ago and led the league in strikeouts. Vogelbach can share some of those at-bats, when he is not coming off the bench as a late inning, pinch-hit threat.
Vogelbach is making peanuts as far as a salary is concerned. A month into the season if he hasn’t proven his worth he can be DFAed, and the hit to the bottom line, insignificant. The Brewers won’t have dug a hole they can’t get out of, in a weak division, either.
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Enough talk about Vogelbach only staying with the Milwaukee Brewers if the DH is instituted. He needs to be there no matter what.