Why the Mets might move on from Daniel Vogelbach this offseason

Fun and frustrating, Daniel Vogelbach’s regular season performance for the New York Mets in 2022 was solid. A slash line of .255/.393/.436 obliterated his career totals of .218/.343/.411. He added 6 home runs as well to help boost one of the weakest spots in the Mets lineup.

His numbers bear out well but that doesn’t necessarily mean the team will pick up his $1.5 million option for 2023. Because of his limitations and their struggles to find him the appropriate right-handed partner, the Mets might want to explore different possibilities at the DH spot rather than a platoon.

And if so, Vogelbach is out of the picture.

The Mets got a lot from Daniel Vogelbach but he is a limited player

A commitment to Vogelbach is a commitment to having some sort of a plan when a lefty starts against the team. During the time Vogelbach was with the Mets, we saw them go from J.D. Davis briefly to Darin Ruf post-trade deadline as the answer. They did later try Mark Vientos and even Francisco Alvarez in the role without much success.

One thing the Mets could explore is continuing to have Vientos and/or Alvarez as the DH partner of Vogelbach. The problem they run into there is finding consistent at-bats for the righty. The team seemed disinterested, at least this year, in letting Vientos play defense. Alvarez could always be thought of as a backup or third catcher depending on the situation the club finds itself in with the James McCann/Tomas Nido duo.

The problem here is that the Mets will then have two more limited defensive players on the roster. It would be Vogelbach plus Vientos or Alvarez. This can create some problems when injuries begin to occur. It’s possible to get away with a roster with one strictly DH player. Having more than one becomes a major disadvantage.

The Mets do need to rethink their lineup plans for the 2023 season despite having enough internal options at each position. They’re in danger of losing a lot of free agents but most are pitchers.

In their finale of 2022, it was silence from the bats that hurt them most. A change needs to occur. As much as it wasn’t Vogelbach who deserves the brunt of the blame, an everyday DH or at least someone who can play the field at a position of a great need would be far more valuable.