4 Mets hitters who will be on a short leash this season

4) NY Mets player on a short leash: Daniel Vogelbach

Daniel Vogelbach is a poor fit for the Mets simply because of how the rest of the roster is structured. They could get away with him and Pete Alonso together. Add in Darin Ruf. Sprinkle in Francisco Alvarez and even Mark Vientos. It’s hard to not be a little frustrated with a first baseman who can only hit against right-handed pitchers. At least it’s not the other way around.

Vogelbach was a productive member of the 2022 Mets. In 183 trips to the plate, Vogey slashed .255/.393/.436. He hit 6 home runs and drove in 25. It wasn’t bad at all, just limiting.

Although the Mets have committed to him and could have chosen to move on, the $1.5 million option on his contract was too affordable to not pick up. I can’t say I blame the team for making the move early on in the offseason. It protected them from being left with lesser quality players.

Vogelbach is a wasted player on a roster if all he does is sit on the bench so we should expect Billy Eppler to give him a little more leeway. If Ruf was able to make it through an entire offseason with the team, I’d suspect the Mets would let Vogelbach remain with them as long as possible even if the numbers aren’t quite what they need to be.