The Mets announced that they have signed first baseman Luke Voit to a minor league deal. He will join Triple-A Syracuse and be active tomorrow.
It’s been a rough season so far for Voit, 32, who got into 22 games with the Brewers but hit just .221/.284/.265 while striking out in 36.5% of his plate appearances. That led to Milwaukee releasing him back to the open market.
Voit’s production has been tailing off for a few years now, but this latest drop was the steepest. In the shortened 2020 season, Voit led the majors by hitting 22 home runs despite the truncated schedule. He slashed .277/.338/.610 on the year for a wRC+ of 153. But in 2021, he made multiple trips to the injured list and hit a diminished .239/.328/.437, wRC+ of 112. The Yankees effectively replaced him with Anthony Rizzo while he was hurt and then flipped Voit to the Padres going into 2022. He only lasted a few months in San Diego before going to the Nationals as part of the Juan Soto deal, finishing the year with a combined .226/.308/.402 line and 102 wRC+. He was non-tendered and joined the Brewers this year but dropped even further, as mentioned above.
Despite that downward trend, it’s not too surprising that the Mets are willing to take a shot. For one thing, they just lost their primary first baseman, as Pete Alonso is going to be sidelined for the next three to four weeks after getting hit by a pitch on his wrist. In the past few days, they’ve used Mark Canha and Mark Vientos to cover the cold corner. Canha is primarily an outfielder who hasn’t played the position regularly since 2015, while Vientos is a rookie who has hit just .167/.233/.256 through his first 86 major league plate appearances.
If Voit can get into a decent groove at Syracuse, he could perhaps force his way back into the picture. Doing so could push Canha back into the outfield or Vientos to the minors, depending on how things play out in the coming weeks. The other appeal for the Mets is the low cost. Since Voit was released, the Brewers remain on the hook for the remainder of his $2MM salary. Even if the Mets call him up to the big leagues, they would only have to pay him the prorated league minimum salary, with that amount subtracted from what the Brewers pay.
lolMets
lolvtadave
Oh yes the immortal Luke Voit
Comon’…ugh.
Start planning the parade.
Alonso MRI isn’t looking good
Certainly makes ya wonder if that’s the driving force behind this move
I think he’s more likely a Vogelbach replacement. Vogelbach benched 3 straight games while Pete is out, the writing is on the wall. I don’t think this means Alonso’s timeline is changing but rather it gives them another option DH option that can also cover 1st while he’s out.
@Chris G: I don’t think he’s a Vogelbach replacement. Mets already have other right-handed DH options. I could honestly see Voit replacing Vientos if Vientos does not start hitting.
Vogelback is a lefty.
you misspelled hefty
Put Vogelbach and Voit in a foot race. Hot dog costumes optional. Winner gets the roster spot. That will pack the stadium!
@stymeedone
Vogelbach and Voit in a foot race? But I thought MLB was trying to speed up games?
Umm they already got it he’s out 3-4 weeks
Umm I think the issue is that it may be longer than 3-4 weeks.
I think Cohen is actually the iceberg
Voit,Voglebach,Voracious.
Good signing. Even if he can’t hit it never hurts to pretend that you just did something good. Positive thinking can spread throughout an organization like a Canadian wildfire.
Bring up Voit, DFA Vogelbach
Except that they’re on opposite sides of the platoon advantage. More likely scenario is that he takes over the short side of the dh split with Vogelbach while Vientos plays every day.
Voit has reverse splits this year and he’s hit worse than Vogelbach
If they use him smart though, he still fills the spot that Vogelbach would hold for a platoon. Because he hits righties better than he hits lefties. Voits overall numbers are terrible and his numbers against LHP are even worse. But he’s hit RHP fine this year
Voit has always had reverse splits in his career. He doesn’t hit lefties well at all but he hits righties just fine when he’s on
Not a bad signing for a minor league deal, the Mets need help at 1b and DH
I think they need more help that just him! Lol
Should trade Vientos for Tellez
@Stubby—Then you can use Tellez and Vogelbach as offensive linemen. Oh wait, this is the Mets, not the Giants!!!
If the Mets trade Vientos, it won’t be for him lol, maybe to the Reds for Edwin’s brother or for a young sp
Time to go back to the family business and make tetherballs.
You can now replace Vogelbach with the same player.
Voit can’t fill out a uni the way Vogelslug does!
He can’t, but he leaves it open because it looks cool.
Luke was drafted in 32nd round, and is still around. Good for him …. not for Mets.
Deck chairs
Titanic.
Lol Cohen is like John Jacob Astor IV
Bring him up – what do they have to lose
Another 35 games.
But what about the remaining 40 games after they do that?
If Voit can’t hit anymore make him a reliever. Can’t be any worse than what the Mets have churned through.
It’s been a rough season so far for Voit, 32, who got into 22 games with the Brewers but hit just .221/.284/.265 while striking out in 36.5% of his plate appearances. That led to Milwaukee releasing him back to the open market.
Voit only saw 74 plate appearances. He was in a strict platoon role against lefties.
He’s not a platoon player! Put him in the line up let him get adjusted.
First of all, this is a minor deal, not franchise altering. Second, this isn’t a deal that threatens Vogey. Tapia would be one since he’s a lefty bat. He doesn’t have power like Vogey was expected to have, but he’s capable of playing the field and he has speed.
Useless signing if they wanted a RH “power” bat who loves to strike out just call up Jaylin Davis
You’re talking about Voit, I take it, not answering the Vogey replacement idea. Voit was added for depth at 1B in the system while Alonso is out.
Uhhh…Vogelslug has speed,yo! He turns into the Flash when there’s a buffet in the clubhouse!
What a mess the Mets are. Good grief
Everyone here is acting like Luke Voit is some sort of scrub. Hes going to mash the ball once he gets called up. Good player. The man led the majors in homeruns as recently as 2020. While he is a bit streaky, I think that he is going to be a key cog in this team moving foward once he gets called up. When Alonso comes back they can still use Voit for DH. Vogelfat should be kicked off the team. I don’t believe in lefty righty platoons. If the guy can hit it shouldn’t matter wether they are facing a lefty or righty
Why Voit and not the red-hot (in Indy Ball) Daniel Murphy — who is also a Met fan favorite??
Oops. Murph just signed with the Angels.
I have seen several Mets fans here recently clamoring for the team to sign Voit, and now they have. Be careful what you wish for
So potentially the Mets are gonna have the Michelin Man and the giant Marshmallow from Ghostbusters in the same lineup. Too bad for the Mets and their fans that Bill Murray is a cubs fan. He can come and save the day when Cool Hand Luke Voit hits .145 with 1 HR No walks and 65Ks
sir they have NAMES (Bibendum and Stay-Puft)
Sorry. It’s been a very long time since I watched Ghostbusters. Didn’t know he had a name.
From the cubs fans to the Mets fans. You can have Brandon Hughes. Just send back a year supply if Brooklyns best voted pizza(whatever that might be) that might be overpay so the cubs will throw in Boog Schambi.
I’m surprised they haven’t gone after Eric Hosmer. The same cost as Voit (pro-rated league minimum), can play the field, and a lefty bat to replace Vogelbach.
Hosmer is making too much to accept a minor league contract.
He’s still getting his full salary from his SanDiego contract. The only difference is that the Mets would only be responsible for the pro-rated league minimum – the rest comes from SanDiego. So he gets paid in full regardless if he’s in the majors or the minors.
It’s like the Wilpons never left just with alot more $ wasted.
The Mets sure do have the makings of a good offensive line. Must be that they’re gearing up for football instead!
Play Baty every day
They basically do.
This is purely a depth move for Syracuse. 62 games into the AAA season, their #1 player at both 1B & 3B (in terms of innings played in the field) is Vientos. The next two names on the 1B depth chart for Syracuse are Jose Peraza (zero professional innings at 1B before 2023) and DJ Stewart (44 career innings at 1B prior to this season.) They picked up Tyler White after the Twins let him go, but seeing as the top options at 3B are Danny Mendick and Jonathan Arauz, it might be worth trotting out Voit at 1B and White at 3B.
Even with his limited success, Voit has the best track record of any of those names. Fine with giving him a flier to see if he can recapture the magic; and if not, who cares?
Mets clubhouse dues just tripled and their chef has left the stadium.
But in honor of Big Dan the Man, the chef has introduced Vogelbabyback ribs! Guaranteed to put on 15 lbs. a plateful.
if history is any guide, they’ll call him up for 1 game, cut him, then watch him turn into babe ruth for the nationals
wtf is this Eppler nonsense with all these ex-yankee scrubs? dump eppler and bring back Omar,Steve Phillips,or Jim Duquette. they all had their hands tied by cheap owners, think about those guys with some actual money to spend