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Austin Dean Re-Signs With KBO’s LG Twins

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Outfielder Austin Dean re-signed with the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization this week (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO). He’ll receive a $300K signing bonus, an $800K salary and up to $200K in incentives.

Dean will stick with the KBO’s defending champions for a second season. The right-handed hitter signed with the Seoul-based Twins last December. He had a strong year against KBO pitching, connecting on 23 home runs in 139 games. Dean ran a .314/.376/.517 slash line through 583 trips to the plate.

A fourth-round draftee of the Marlins in 2012, Dean has played parts of five seasons at the big league level. The bulk of that time came with Miami between 2018-19. He picked up sporadic reps with the Cardinals and Giants over the subsequent three seasons. Dean hit .228/.286/.390 over 365 plate appearances against big league arms.

Dean joined pitchers Casey Kelly and Adam Plutko as foreign players on the Twins’ roster in 2023. Kelly and Plutko are back in free agency. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported this week that Plutko was looking to make it back to MLB after two seasons with the Twins. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweeted on Tuesday that Kelly could be on major league teams’ radars as well.

Brewers Sign Enoli Paredes, Jared Koenig To Minor League Deals

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The Brewers have signed pitchers Enoli Paredes and Jared Koenig to minor league contracts, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Both will be in MLB camp as non-roster invitees.

Paredes elected free agency a few weeks ago after being waived by the Astros. The right-hander had previously spent his entire career in the Houston organization. Paredes pitched out of Dusty Baker’s bullpen at times from 2020-22, tallying 32 1/3 innings over 37 cumulative appearances. He worked to a 3.90 ERA but walked almost a fifth of opposing hitters.

Now 28, Paredes spent the entire 2023 season on optional assignment to Houston’s Triple-A club. He allowed 4.80 earned runs per nine over 54 1/3 innings in the Pacific Coast League. While Paredes’ 27.3% strikeout rate there was solid, his 18.6% walk percentage was similarly untenable as the mark he’s managed in his MLB career. He has a mid-90s heater but will need to dramatically improve his strike-throwing to carve out a spot in the middle innings for Milwaukee.

Koenig, 30 in January, also spent all of 2023 in Triple-A. He was in the Padres system on a minor league pact. Koenig allowed an even 5.00 ERA over 45 frames with their top affiliate in El Paso. He kept the ball on the ground at a 51.1% clip with slightly worse than average strikeout and walk marks.

His only major league work came in 2022. Koenig pitched 39 1/3 innings over 10 appearances (five starts) with Oakland. The soft-tossing lefty posted a 5.72 ERA while striking out 12.4% of opponents in green and gold. He could provide the Brew Crew with long relief depth in Triple-A if he doesn’t break camp.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 11/17/23

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Tonight marks the deadline for teams to tender contracts to players who are eligible for arbitration. This evening should also see a handful of arb-eligible players agree to terms with their clubs to avoid a hearing.

These so-called “pre-tender deals” usually, although not always, involve players who were borderline non-tender candidates. Rather than run the risk of being cut loose, they can look to sign in the lead-up to the deadline. Those salaries often come in a little below projections, since these players tend to have less leverage because of the uncertainty about whether they’ll be offered a contract at all.

Under the 2022 collective bargaining agreement, players who sign to avoid an arbitration hearing are guaranteed full termination pay. That’s a change from prior CBAs, when teams could release an arb-eligible player before the season began and would only owe a prorated portion of the contract. This was done to incentivize teams and players to get deals done without going to a hearing.

All salary projections referenced are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. This post will be updated throughout the night as deals are reported.

Latest Moves

  • The Orioles agreed to deals with outfielders Sam Hilliard and Ryan McKenna, reliever Keegan Akin and shortstop Jorge Mateo, as announced by the team. Mateo will make $2.7MM, as first reported by Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (X link). Jon Heyman of the New York Post has terms (on X) for Akin and Hilliard: $825K for the former, $800K for the latter.
  • Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski has a deal for $7.9MM, Heyman reports. That’s a little above his $7.3MM projection. Yastrzemski has one additional arbitration year remaining.
  • Reliever Yency Almonte and the Dodgers have agreed to a $1.9MM salary, per Heyman. That matches his projection.
  • Lefty reliever Ryan Borucki agreed to a contract with the Pirates, the team announced. Feinsand reports it as a $1.6MM deal. He was projected at $1.3MM.
  • The Rockies have a deal with lefty reliever Jalen Beeks, Heyman reports. He’ll make $1.675MM. Recently claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay, Beeks was projected at $1.8MM.
  • The Cubs announced a deal with third baseman Patrick Wisdom. Jesse Rogers of ESPN reports that the power-hitting infielder will make $2.725MM. That’s narrowly above a $2.6MM projection.
  • Outfielder DJ Stewart agreed to a deal with the Mets, per a club announcement. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports it’ll be for $1.38MM. Stewart had been projected at $1.5MM as an early qualifier via Super Two.
  • The Phillies announced deals with right-hander Dylan Covey, catcher Garrett Stubbs and outfielder Jake Cave. Terms were not disclosed.
  • The White Sox announced agreement with reliever Matt Foster on a deal for $750K, narrowly above the league minimum. The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in April.

Earlier Tonight

  • The Royals announced agreement with lefty reliever Josh Taylor. He’ll make $1.1MM, tweets Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Acquired from the Red Sox last winter, Taylor allowed an 8.15 ERA over 17 2/3 innings before undergoing season-ending back surgery. He was projected for a $1.3MM salary.
  • The Athletics announced today that they have agreed to one-year deals with infielders Miguel Andujar and Abraham Toro. The club claimed Andujar off waivers from Pittsburgh earlier this month and swung a deal to acquire Toro from the Brewers earlier this week. Andujar hit .250/.300/.476 in 90 trips to the plate in the majors this year while Toro appeared in just nine games at the big league level but slashed .444/.524/.778 in that extremely limited action. Andujar will make $1.7MM (Heyman link); Toro is set for a $1.275MM salary.
  • The Giants have a deal with outfielder Austin Slater for $4MM, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid (X link). That’s a little north of his $3.6MM projected salary. Slater has over five years of service time and will be a free agent next offseason. The right-handed hitter is coming off a .270/.348/.400 showing over 89 games. He’s a career .285/.374/.463 batter against left-handed pitching but owns a .227/.314/.333 mark versus righties.

American League Non-Tenders: 11/17/23

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The deadline to tender a contract to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7:00pm CT. Here’s a rundown of the players on American League teams that have been non-tendered today. This post will be updated as more decisions are revealed. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for all players eligible for arbitration last month. All players who are non-tendered before this evening’s deadline go directly into free agency, where they’re eligible to sign with any of MLB’s 30 clubs.

Onto the transactions…

Latest Moves

  • Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the Rays non-tendered righty Cooper Criswell. He’d been designated for assignment on Tuesday.
  • The Mariners announced this evening that the club has non-tendered first baseman Mike Ford. Ford hit well (.228/.323/.475) in 83 games with Seattle this season but had already been designated for assignment earlier this week.
  • The Yankees announced this evening that the club has non-tendered right-handers Albert Abreu and Lou Trivino in addition to left-hander Anthony Misiewicz. Trivino didn’t pitch in the majors this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in May. Abreu pitched to a 4.73 ERA and 5.26 FIP across 59 innings of work while Misiewicz posted a 7.36 ERA across 11 innings of work for the Diamondbacks, Yankees, and Tigers.
  • The Twins have non-tendered left-hander Jovani Moran and right-hander Ronny Henriquez, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Moran finished the season on the injured list and, per Hayes, will require Tommy John surgery this offseason. Henriquez did not appear in the majors this year and struggled to a 5.68 ERA in 37 appearances at the Triple-A level.
  • The Angels announced this evening that they have non-tendered right-hander Jose Marte. Marte had gotten brief looks out of Anaheim’s bullpen across the past three seasons but struggled to a 8.14 ERA in 24 1/3 combined innings of work over those cups of coffee.
  • The Red Sox have non-tendered right-hander Wyatt Mills, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Mills, 28, did not appear in the big leagues this year and underwent Tommy John surgery over the summer.

Earlier Moves

  • The Rangers announced this evening that they have non-tendered right-hander Matt Bush and left-hander Brett Martin. Bush, 37, struggled to a 9.58 ERA with the Brewers this year and did not make an appearance with Texas. Martin missed the entire 2023 campaign with shoulder issues.
  • The Royals announced this evening that they have non-tendered outfielder Diego Hernandez, left-hander Austin Cox, catcher Logan Porter and right-hander Josh Staumont. All but Hernandez had already been designated for assignment by the club earlier this week. Hernandez has yet to appear in the majors during his career and slashed .245/.302/.291 in 60 games at the Double-A level this season.
  • The Athletics announced today that they did not tender a contract to infielder Kevin Smith. Smith joined the club in the trade that sent Matt Chapman to Toronto and slashed just .182/.218/.314 in 297 trips to the plate with Oakland over the last two seasons.
  • The Blue Jays are expected to non-tender right-hander Adam Cimber this evening, per Ari Alexander of Houston’s KPRC-2. A veteran of six MLB seasons, the 32-year-old Cimber struggled badly in 2023 with a 7.40 ERA in 22 appearances despite a strong 2.53 ERA in 149 appearances with Toronto between 2021 and 2022.

National League Non-Tenders: 11/17/23

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The deadline to tender a contract to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7:00pm CT. Here’s a rundown of fairly minor players on National League teams who have been non-tendered today. This post will be updated as more decisions are revealed. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for all players eligible for arbitration last month.

All players who are non-tendered before this evening’s deadline go directly into free agency without being placed on waivers. They’ll be eligible to sign with any of the league’s 30 teams. It’s not uncommon to see non-tendered players almost immediately return to their previous organization on a minor league deal.

The transactions:

Latest Moves

Earlier

  • The Reds have non-tendered relievers Derek Law and Reiver Sanmartin. Cincinnati also confirmed the previously reported non-tender of Nick Senzel.
  • In addition to Rowdy Tellez and Brandon Woodruff, the Brewers have non-tendered right-hander J.C. Mejía. He failed a PED test in September, the second such result of his career, and was suspended for 162 games.
  • Former Rookie of the Year winner Kyle Lewis was non-tendered by the Diamondbacks. He played in only 16 games after being acquired from the Mariners last offseason.
  • The Cubs non-tendered relievers Ethan Roberts, Brandon Hughes and Codi Heuer. All three are recovering from surgeries.
  • Right-hander Tommy Doyle was non-tendered by the Rockies. Colorado designated him for assignment when acquiring Cal Quantrill this morning.
  • The Cardinals have non-tendered catcher Andrew Knizner, first baseman Juan Yepez and starting pitchers Jake Woodford and Dakota Hudson. St. Louis reportedly tried to deal Hudson this afternoon but evidently did not find a taker.
  • The Mets have non-tendered relievers Jeff Brigham, Sam Coonrod and Trevor Gott. New York also cut loose infielder Luis Guillorme and confirmed the reported non-tender of Dan Vogelbach.
  • Left-hander Josh Fleming was non-tendered by the Phillies, the team announced. Philadelphia just snagged the southpaw off waivers from the Rays a few weeks ago.
  • The Marlins have non-tendered catcher Jacob Stallings and infielder Garrett Hampson, per a club announcement. Stallings spent two seasons as the primary catcher after being acquired from the Pirates at the 2021-22 offseason. Hampson signed a minor league deal with the Fish last season.
  • The Pirates non-tendered Osvaldo Bido and Hunter Stratton, tweets Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Neither had yet been eligible for arbitration. Both right-handers made their big league debuts in 2023; Mackey suggests the Bucs will try to bring them back on minor league pacts.
  • The Nationals announced they’ve non-tendered first baseman Dominic Smith and right-hander Cory Abbott. Both players were designated for assignment earlier in the week, making this an inevitability.

Tigers Non-Tender Austin Meadows, Spencer Turnbull

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The Tigers announced this evening that they have non-tendered outfielder Austin Meadows and right-hander Spencer Turnbull. Right-handers Brenan Hanifee, Garrett Hill, and Freddy Pacheco were all non-tendered as well. All five players will now hit the open market as free agents.

The decision to non-tender Meadows is hardly a surprise. While the former ninth-overall pick sports a career slash line of .259/.333/.472 over the past six years between his time with the Pirates, Rays, and Tigers, the 28-year-old has only rarely been able to take the field since arriving in Detroit. He played just 36 games in 2022 before being sidelined by vertigo, and in 2023 was placed on the injured list due to anxiety after six games before departing from the team in June.

Given his inability to stay on the field during his Tigers career, it’s hardly a surprise the club decided to non-tender Meadows rather than pay him the $4.3MM MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected he could earn in his final trip through arbitration this season. That’s an especially reasonable decision given the club’s deep outfield mix that includes the likes of Riley Greene, Mark Canha, Akil Baddoo, Kerry Carpenter, and Austin’s brother Parker Meadows.

That being said, if Meadows is healthy and ready to go for the 2024 season he could prove to be among the most interesting bats available on the open market this offseason. After all, Meadows won’t celebrate his 29th birthday until May and was one of the best hitters in the sport as recently as 2019, when he slashed .291/.364/.558 in 591 trips to the plate for Tampa en route to his first career All Star appearance and a 14th-place finish in AL MVP voting. In a class of free agent hitters that has few surefire, quality bats beyond top of the market stars Shohei Ohtani and Cody Bellinger, Meadows could be an interesting buy-low candidate for clubs with a need in left field or at DH.

Turnbull’s non-tender, on the other hand, is something of a shock. Just last month, president of baseball operations noted that he expected Turnbull to compete for a spot in the club’s starting rotation this spring, seemingly suggesting that the club would tender the right-hander a contract at a projected $2.4MM. Turnbull made just seven starts in the big leagues due to injury this year, struggling to a 7.26 ERA and 5.55 FIP across 31 innings of work. It was his first time on a professional mound since undergoing Tommy John surgery early in the 2021 campaign.

Prior to Turnbull’s health issues, he looked like a budding mid-rotation or better starter with a 3.46 ERA and 3.24 FIP with a 21.4% strikeout rate across 106 2/3 innings (20 starts) between 2020 and 2021. Though he struggled badly both in the majors and at the Triple-A level in 2023, it seemed reasonable to expect Turnbull to be tendered by the Tigers this year, particularly given Harris’s previous comments. Now a free agent, Turnbull figures to be an attractive low-cost depth option for rotation-needy clubs this offseason given the considerable upside he flashed as recently as two years ago.

That being said, it’s worth noting that reports from earlier in the season indicated that the relationship between Turnbull and the Tigers began to fray this year after the Tigers attempted to option the right-hander to Triple-A early in the season, prompting Turnbull to disclose neck discomfort that ultimately resulted in him being placed on the injured list instead. The Tigers ultimately activated Turnbull from the injured list and optioned him to the minors in August, just six days before he would reach five years of MLB service time. The move ultimately delayed Turnbull’s free agency from after the 2024 campaign until after the 2025 campaign. Given the frayed relationship between club and player, it’s more understandable that the sides have decided to part ways.

As for the other three righties non-tendered by Detroit this evening, both Pacheco and Hanifee had already been designated for assignment by the Tigers earlier this week, making the decision to non-tender the pair little more than a formality. Pacheco has not yet appeared in the major leagues in his career and underwent elbow surgery back in June, while Hanifee posted a 5.40 ERA in five innings of work with the Tigers this year. Hill, by contrast, is the most established of the three at the big league level with 76 total innings in the big leagues over the past two seasons. While he pitched decently as a swing option for Detroit in 2022 with a 4.03 ERA in 60 1/3 innings, Hill’s nine appearances out of the bullpen this season were nothing short of disastrous with a 9.19 ERA in 15 2/3 innings of work.

Padres Non-Tender Austin Nola, Three Others

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The Padres announced the non-tenders of catcher Austin Nola, outfielder Taylor Kohlwey and pitchers Tim Hill and Jose Espada.

Nola’s non-tender marks the end of a three-and-a-half-year tenure in San Diego. The Friars picked him up alongside Dan Altavilla and Austin Adams in a now clearly lopsided (in the other direction) swap that sent a four-player package of Ty France, Andres Munoz, Luis Torrens and Taylor Trammell to the Mariners back in 2020. At the time, Nola had been an unmitigated steal for the Mariners in free agency, signing a minor league contract and coming out of nowhere to deliver a .280/.351/.476 batting line in 377 plate appearances while playing catcher, first base, second base, third base and the outfield corners.

Nola’s production almost immediately took a nosedive following the swap, however, and in 819 career plate appearances with the Padres he’s a .234/.314/.320 hitter — including a particularly woeful .146/.260/.192 slash in 154 plate appearances this past season. (France and Munoz, meanwhile, have gone on to become key players for a rebuild Mariners roster, although the former struggled himself in 2023.)

With Nola projected for a $2.35MM salary (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz), the Padres cutting payroll, and fellow catcher Luis Campusano breaking out to the tune of a .319/.356/.491 batting line in 49 games, Nola no longer had a clear fit in the organization. He’ll turn 34 next month and look to latch on with new club between now and Opening Day.

Hill, also 33, has built a quietly solid track record over a six-year career between the Royals and Padres, though he stumbled to a career-worst 5.48 ERA in 44 1/3 frames this past season. Hill’s 2023 included a lowly 12.9% strikeout rate, although his 6.9% walk rate and particularly his 61.2% grounder rate were both strong marks.

From 2019-22, Hill totaled 165 1/3 innings of 3.70 ERA ball between Kansas City and San Diego, fanning 20.2% of his opponents against an 8.1% walk rate and superlative 58.9% ground-ball rate. He’s long had rather glaring platoon splits, however, making him a victim of the rule that stipulated pitchers must face at least three opponents per outing (or finish the inning). Hill has held opposing lefties to a dreary .223/.302/.304 batting line in his career but yielded an unsightly .284/.351/.460 slash against right-handers. He’ll hit the market in search of a rebound opportunity, likely on a one-year contract or minor league deal.

Kohlwey, 29, made his big league debut this season and went 2-for-13 with a pair of singles. The former 21st-round pick is a career .296/.387/.444 hitter in parts of four Triple-A seasons. The 26-year-old Espada pitched a scoreless inning for the Padres in his MLB debut in 2023. They plucked him out of indie ball in 2022, and he notched a 2.81 ERA with a big 31.4% strikeout rate but a concerning 12.8% walk rate in 83 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season. Both players will look for new opportunities as minor league free agents.

Cardinals Non-Tender Dakota Hudson

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7:10pm: The Cardinals have announced that Hudson has been non-tendered, leaving him set to hit the open market where he’ll be able to sign with any of MLB’s 30 clubs.

4:29pm: The Cardinals are shopping right-hander Dakota Hudson “pretty hard” this afternoon ahead of today’s non-tender deadline, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Feinsand also suggests that St. Louis’s aggressiveness on Hudson could indicate the club views him as a non-tender candidate.

Hudson, 29, is projected by MLBTR’s Matt Swartz for $3.7MM this offseason in his penultimate trip through arbitration. The right-hander made his MLB debut back in 2018 and managed to get quality mid-rotation results through the first three seasons of his career, with a 3.17 ERA (131 ERA+) in 217 innings of work from 2018-20. That success came in spite of some shaky peripheral numbers that undercut the otherwise strong performance; Hudson struck out just 18.1% of batters faced while walking 11.6% during those years, leaving him with an unsightly 4.74 FIP in spite of an excellent 57.3% groundball rate.

Things took a turn for the worse for Hudson late in the 2020 campaign, however, when he was sidelined by Tommy John surgery. The injury would limit him to just 8 2/3 innings of work in 2021. While he returned as a regular member of the Cardinals rotation in 2022, his results had fallen back to Earth as he posted a mediocre 4.45 ERA (88 ERA+) in 139 2/3 innings of work, with a 10.1% walk rate that nearly matched his 13.1% strikeout rate. Only Zack Greinke struck out a lower percentage of batters among pitchers with at least 100 innings of work that year, while Hudson’s K-BB of just 2.9% was dead last.

While the Cardinals tendered Hudson a contract for the 2023 campaign, he was largely relegated to a depth option in the minor leagues despite the club struggling to field a viable rotation throughout much of the year. While he missed a month early in the season due to a neck issue, 11 of his 23 total starts in 2023 were made for the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Memphis, with whom he struggled to a 6.00 ERA in 48 innings of work. His 4.98 ERA in 81 1/3 innings of work at the big league level, while an improvement, was still 12% worse than league average by measure of ERA+. It’s worth noting that Hudson flashed a more serviceable form when pitching out of the bullpen in the majors this year, with a walk rate below 10% and a 3.86 ERA across 16 1/3 innings of work in six multi-inning relief outings.

Though Hudson has considerable success in his past as a big league starter and showed flashes of quality out of the bullpen this year, it’s not clear whether a team would be interested in parting with much of value for the opportunity to tender him a contract this winter. After all, the Cardinals themselves are among the teams most hungry for starting pitching options in the league at the moment. That being said, it wouldn’t be a shock to see a pitching-needy club work out a trade for Hudson, as the Rockies did for righty Cal Quantrill earlier today. If Hudson finds himself non-tendered by the Cardinals this evening, he could draw interest as a low-cost depth option on a market with plenty of demand for pitching.

Brewers To Non-Tender Rowdy Tellez

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The Brewers are planning to non-tender first baseman Rowdy Tellez, reports Robert Murray of Fansided. Tellez was projected by MLBTR’s Matt Swartz for a $5.9MM salary in his final trip through arbitration this offseason.

The 28-year-old Tellez smacked a career-high 35 home runs for the 2022 Brewers but was unable to replicate that production at the plate in 2023. This past season saw the slugger turn in a career-worst .215/.291/.376 batting line with just 13 home runs — a stark decline from the prior year’s offensive output.

Perhaps the Brewers might’ve been willing to give him another chance or find a trade partner if Tellez were a standout defender, but the 6’4″, 270-pound slugger is limited to first base and designated hitter only and draws below-average marks for his glovework. Tellez also generally requires a platoon partner; he hit just .174/.269/.261 against left-handers this year and owns a tepid .236/.308/.386 batting line in 438 career plate appearances versus same-handed opponents.

As his 2022 campaign showed, Tellez has the capability to be a source of booming power in the middle of a lineup, but his margin for error is rather slight, given the lack of defensive versatility and on-base issues. Now that he’s a free agent, a club with openings at first base and/or designated hitter and in the market for some low-cost power upside figures to take a look.

Mets To Non-Tender Daniel Vogelbach

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The Mets are planning to non-tender left-handed slugger Daniel Vogelbach, reports Mike Puma from the New York Post. Vogelbach, 31 next month, slashed .233/.339/.404 in 104 games with the Mets this year and was projected for $2.6MM in his final trip through arbitration by MLBTR’s Matt Swartz. He’ll now hit free agency and be eligible to sign with any of MLB’s 30 clubs.

A second-round pick by the Cubs in the 2011 draft, Vogelbach made his MLB debut with the Mariners back in 2016, though he wouldn’t receive consistent playing time at the big league level until 2019. He was an All-Star for Seattle that year, slashing .208/.341/.439 with 30 homers in 558 trips to the plate. Vogelbach split his shortened 2020 campaign between the Mariners, Blue Jays, and Brewers before settling in with Milwaukee in a part-time role for the 2021 season.

After slashing an essentially league average .215/.343/.385 (101 wRC+) with 15 homers in 394 plate appearances from 2020-21, Vogelbach signed with the Pirates on a big league deal for the 2022 season. He hit fairly with the Pirates (116 wRC+) but really took off after a midseason trade to the Mets, for whom he slashed .255/.393/.436 (143 wRC+) in 183 trips to the plate down the stretch as a part-time DH. Vogelbach returned to Queens in that same role for 2023 but failed to replicate his 2022 production in the role with a wRC+ of just 104.

Vogelbach will enter the free agent market as a quality bench piece or part-time slugger for a club at first base or DH, though his glovework at first is generally regarded as questionable. While Vogelbach possesses a strong .240/.362/.452 slash line against right-handed pitchers for his career, same-handed pitching has crushed him during his time in the majors; he’s hit just .129/.248/.215 in 189 career games against southpaws, meaning any acquiring club would almost assuredly not be interested in Vogelbach for an everyday role.

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