5:08pm: The move is official. Vogt will take the 40-man spot that was opened earlier today when pitching prospect Logan Webb was placed on the restricted list due to an 80-game PED suspension. In order to open a spot on the active roster, San Francisco has optioned left-hander Ty Blach to Triple-A Sacramento.
10:15am: The Giants will select the contract of veteran backstop Stephen Vogt today, he tells Janie McCauley of the Associated Press (Twitter link). Corresponding roster moves aren’t yet known.
Vogt, 34, will return to the majors for the first time since the 2017 campaign. He ultimately missed the entirety of the 2018 season with a shoulder injury that required shoulder surgery and at one point looked to be career threatening.
Through 1,808 career plate appearances at the game’s highest level, Vogt owns a .251/.310/.416 slash line. At his peak with the Athletics, he was among the game’s best-hitting catchers for a brief stretch and was named to a pair of American League All-Star teams.
Vogt has shown signs that he’s ready to be a contributor in the majors once again. He’s off to a strong .241/.389/.500 slash with four home runs through 72 plate appearances with the Giants’ top affiliate. Better still, he has drawn 14 walks against 11 strikeouts. The Giants already have a pair of catchers on the roster in Buster Posey and Erik Kratz, so it’s not clear how Vogt will factor into the catching mix just yet, but he’ll at the very least give the Giants an additional veteran bat off the bench.
Kratz or Blach headed out, assuming Kratz. Can’t have 3 catchers, Kratz struggling thus far, .111 I believe. Guessing Williamson won’t be far behind. He’s tearing it up in AAA. This will be his last shot if they call him up.
Sure you can have 3 catchers. Arizona has like 6 of them. It can be done.
And Vogt doesn’t really have the strongest arm. He’s easy to run on, and that shoulder surgery he had last season sure didn’t help that.
Hey! We’re carrying three catchers lol
Boch said useful as bat off the bench.
The Giants should call-up Abad. He’s pitching pretty wekl in Sacramento
Not Abad idea. Har har har har. I’m so original
Hey. I laughed 🙂
In other Giants news, pitching prospect Logan Webb has been dealt an 80 game PED suspension.
And here I thought he was still with Oakland. In my defense, I don’t watch much AL baseball, but I still feel a little out of the loop being 2 years behind on this one.
Hell, he was even with the Brew crew before the Giants! You’re two teams behind lol
BOOM!!!
Yeah I remember him vaguely with the Brewers now, but it wasn’t a very memorable stay. I’ll bet that if you asked 100 random baseball fans that weren’t looking at his BR page, most of them would only remember his Oakland stint too.
I only remember Vogt from his Rays tenure…
Ouch. 0 for 25, only 2 ks!
@hiflew Vogt didn’t set the world on fire when he was with the Brewers but he was DEFINITELY a fan favorite around here. He has such a great personality and he fit in very very nicely in Milwaukee. Even when he missed all last season he traveled with the team the majority of the time and boosted morale with a smiling face and keeping the dugout in high spirits. So I’d say his time in Milwaukee WAS memorable, just not because of his play.
Have to think Kratz will be the casualty here since his performance at the plate has “cratered” so far this season.
Will they deploy him as catcher? He was never regarded as a good defensive catcher, and I thought he has difficulty with the injuries he’s had now.
He will likely be the day-game-after-night-game and Sunday catcher
A little off the subject, but the Cardinals currently have an Ace pitcher coming off the injured list to be brought up as a reliever to build up arm strength. The former Ace is Carlos Martinez. A starting pitcher who’s been clocked frequently in the past at 101 mph. The Cardinals are currently in need of an established Lefthanded Starter. Of which they currently don’t have and have none in the making in the near future. Would the Giants fans think the Giants front office consider a trade with the primary players for exchange being Madison Bumgarner and Carlos Martinez??? Also, the Cardinals have an abundance of young outfielders which cuts into Dexter Fowler’s playing time. Fowler is having a great season hitting .316, plus playing sterling outfield at all three positions. I can’t see where a trade like this wouldn’t be beneficial to both teams. Can you??
No one is cutting into Fowler’s playing time as long as he plays well.
That said, could see Cards trading for Bumgarner. Not sure I could see them giving up Martinez but it’s conceivable. They might not mind ditching the salary commitment with how high their payroll is climbing.
But why would the giants trade bumgarner for that guy? There’s no value unless it included a young outfielder who has already shown he can hit in the majors. The giants havent rebuilt in the 31 years of my life and they aren’t going to start now. To think bumgarner won’t resign in sf is just fooling yourself. Giants really have only a few holes and this team can compete. They brought in a GM (or president or whatever bogus title they gave him) who has a history of improving a team without rebuilding in a traditional tank and play the kids way. This fact is seriously overlooked by the sports media, who seem hell bent in forcing the giants to sell off the roster. It’s just not how they do business. Farhan will find the missing pieces, even if it means making a trade that’s unpopular. Does anyone else remember when the current ownership group bought the team and immediately traded the most popular guy on the team? Matt Williams remembers. Anyone else remember when farhan came in second to signing a guy to over a 1/4 billion dollar contract? Y’all need to realize the giants aren’t selling off the team and being terrible for a few years on purpose. The giants have gone for it every year for a century, and are really second only to the Yankees in terms of history.
Sorry for the ramble, but being a giants fan means having an insane passion for the team. That’s why regular season games with no meaning roar louder than other teams playoff games. We’re a crazy bunch.
The Martinez to the Giants idea has been floated before, but I think his defensive ability, or lack of it, was a concern.
He was referring to Carlos Martinez
Is this an upgrade for the Giants? Vogt yes or no below.
Well played… the older I get, the more I feel life is a play on words.
Vogt is a super nice guy. Glad to see him get another shot.
Can Vogt play first base?? Parra can’t hit. Boch brought him up in last nights game as a pinch hitter and he struck out. Vogt to first, Belt to left (which is not ideal considering he’s out of position) and Solarte to right field. Just a thought
Yes. He’s about average for a 1B glove-wise. He’s got poor range but will still try.
Thank you for the information. I don’t know much about Vogt other than he’s had a couple of good years in the big leagues. I certainly hope he contributes. Big win tonight versus the hated ones!
Vogt even has experience in the OF corners. He has played a full game in left field for the Giants AAA club this year already.
OKAY EVERYONE – Let’s play a rousing game of “Follow the Bouncing Back-up Catcher!”
Didn’t the Giants trade Andrew Susac to the Brewers due to his defensive shortcomings?
Didn’t the Giants dump Nick Hundley due to his defensive shortcomings after last season?
Didn’t the Giants sign Rene Rivera to provide organizational catching depth?
Didn’t the Giants sign Hamlet Marte to provide organizational catching depth?
Didn’t the Giants sign Stephen Vogt to provide organizational catching depth?
Didn’t the Giants claim Tom Murphy off waivers to provide organizational catching depth?
Didn’t the Giants trade for Eric Kratz due to his defensive prowess?
Didn’t the Giants release Rene Rivera due to his defensive shortcomings this spring?
Didn’t the Giants trade Cameron Rupp due to his defensive shortcomings this spring?
Didn’t the Giants trade Tom Murphy due to his defensive shortcomings this spring?
Didn’t the Giants KEEP Eric Kratz due to his defensive prowess?
So now with the entire team’s batting average around the “Mendoza Line’, someone has the BRILLIANT idea to sacrifice catching defense for catching offense ????
the fact that there is indeed a catcher named Hamlet Marte is endlessly ammusing to me.
He’s just a backup that plays several positions and can hit and is a 2-time Allstar Nentwig. You went a long way for THAT!?
I BELIEVE IN STEPHEN VOGT
Beede coming up if a couple days. Kratz going doing down
Kind of notable that Blach’s going down, imo. He had a really good 2018 that improved upon an already decent 2017.
Well he has an 18.90 ERA and the Giants have a strong bullpen.
Wasn’t that 1 game? SSS
Glad blach is sent down. He’s definitely not what the Giants need to win games. They have plenty of bullpen depth.
Can someone please tell me why Crawford/panik continue to start? There absolutely terrible! It’s hard to watch them play these days.
Actually Panik’s bat has been decent since being inserted as the lead off hitter. Crawford on the other hand continues to struggle, but we don’t have any other options to bring up at this point. As I check tonight’s line up I see that Bochy has decided to sit Panik in favor of his mindset of a righty/lefty matchup. SMH
Wonder if there’s any chance Jalen Miller gets called up this year. He looks solid. Not sure how his D is tho
Is it jus me, or does this guy have a dark rain cloud above his head following him everywhere? You gotta feel for the guy.
wrong post. man I’m tired lol
The only solution is to have Pablo catch……