Has the lovefest with Daniel Vogelbach ended?

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen is a very wealthy man. Being a lifelong Mets fan, he is willing to do whatever it takes to see them win. It is one of the reasons the Mets have one of the highest payrolls in Major League Baseball in 2022. 

When the trade deadline rolled around in early August, the Metropolitans had their name in multiple rumors related to big bats they could add to their lineup. Last year at the deadline, New York acquired Javier Baez from the Chicago Cubs in a trade that was viewed as a failure for the Mets due to a heavy return that was sent to Chicago. Maybe that scared Steve Cohen and company away from another big trade this year. Whether that was the reason or not, the Mets decided to grab multiple players with less value. Daniel Vogelbach was one of them. 

The love from Mets fans for Daniel Vogelbach is quickly diminishing as the season goes on

On July 22nd, the New York Mets acquired 1B/DH Daniel Vogelbach from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for RHP Colin Holderman. When Vogelbach first arrived in Queens, he stole the show by batting .300 with 2 HR and 6 RBIs in his first 12 games. During that stretch the team also had a record of 10-2. Due to his success on the field, to go along with his appearance and great personality off the field, fans of the Amazins were quick to fall in love. 

Unfortunately, since that first two week stretch, things have gone downhill as Vogelbach is hitting under the Mendoza line (.200) in his last 30 games. Vogelbach has had spurts of success over the last month or so, but similarly to how the rest of the team has performed as of late, there has been a lack of consistency. 

One of the main reasons the 29 year old was brought to New York was to provide Pete Alonso with some protection in the middle of the lineup. If Vogelbach can be a force at the plate hitting behind Alonso in the order, as a result, Pete will get more pitches to hit, allowing him to do more damage. When there is an opposing right handed pitcher on the bump and Daniel Vogelbach serves as the DH, batting 5th, he is very valuable to that Mets lineup. The struggles that the team is currently going through are, of course, not all his fault. But he is certainly one of their biggest keys to success and will continue to be throughout the rest of September and into October. 

September was supposed to be a big month for the New York Mets with the goals of making the postseason and winning the National League East in the palm of their hand. The easy schedule had many thinking the team would get across the finish line with ease.

All of the goals that the Mets aspire to achieve are still right in front of them, but they are going to need guys, like Daniel Vogelbach, to figure things out and find ways to get back into the hearts of Mets fans.