Brewers claim Stephen Vogt on waivers

[remfire]

I like the move. I might be all wet here, but one of the "few" reasons Franklin's still on this roster is that he can bat lefty and is the emergency catcher. Makes pinch hitting a catcher late in games less risky with a third, albeit risky, option. Vogt also bats lefty and can catch. Franklin now gets DFA'd. Vogt takes his spot as the handed version of Aguilar. Brinson and Espino go to AAA when Villar and Braun get back.

[liveforoctober]

I like the move. I might be all wet here, but one of the "few" reasons Franklin's still on this roster is that he can bat lefty and is the emergency catcher. Makes pinch hitting a catcher late in games less risky with a third, albeit risky, option. Vogt also bats lefty and can catch. Franklin now gets DFA'd. Vogt takes his spot as the handed version of Aguilar. Brinson and Espino go to AAA when Villar and Braun get back.

 

If Bandy stays on the roster as you suggest he would be lucky to get one at bat a week. He should never start with both Vogt and Pina and would be the last PH option on the bench. I would be shocked if he is still on the roster in 24 hours and furthermore with how much Stearns and Co. love having 40 man flexibility ... wouldn't surprise me to see him removed from the 40 man.

[pacopete4]

This is a good signing. Bandy needs some at bats at AAA and Vogt, ya just never know. Might even make Franklin a goner because he adds that left bat.

There are currently 3 catchers on AAA roster, Who goes Garcia, Susac or Heineman?

 

 

Heineman and Susac have been atrocious there. I'm sure there's a way to make room.

[remfire]

If Bandy stays on the roster as you suggest he would be lucky to get one at bat a week. He should never start with both Vogt and Pina and would be the last PH option on the bench. I would be shocked if he is still on the roster in 24 hours and furthermore with how much Stearns and Co. love having 40 man flexibility ... wouldn't surprise me to see him removed from the 40 man.

 

This is definitely another option. Whether he deserves it or not, I'd be a bit surprised if they just jettisoned Bandy at this time. I still think there is a way that all 3 can coexist on this roster. I'd rather see Vogt being the guy getting late game pinch hitting opportunities and minimal at bats. He's a veteran guy who might be able to handle that role a little better than most. He was just DFA'd after making to consecutive ASGs, I think he'd embrace any role on a major league roster. Regardless of what happens, I'd rather have Vogt and Bandy on this roster than Franklin.

[NievesNoNO]

Vogt is a two time All Star. This is a clear upgrade. He's very similar to Montero.

 

 

Agreed. There's really not much of a debate as to whether it's an upgrade or not. Marginal improvements at multiple spots at the back end of the roster could keep this team in contention a bit longer. I appreciate the fact that Stearns an Co. are continuously looking to improve at any and all positions.

[homer]

The fact that he was (past tense) an all star means squat. He actually had a lower WAR than Bandy this year. Brewers are betting he bounces back higher than Bandy would have while giving them some positional flexibility. Risk worth taking with a backup catcher spot.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

I think this is an indication that the Brewers are willing to expand the payroll this year. I assume Vogt made it through waivers up to the Brewers because of his remaining salary. $2M is a lot to pay for a backup C who has not hit well this year, but the Brewers can afford it.

 

Maybe they can make some other upgrades without impacting the minors by picking up expensive veterans that other teams don't want.

 

For what its worth, Vogt has 2 more years of control and then is a FA in 2020.

[burnzy24]

Bandy and Brinson to AAA per the Brewer's twitter account.

[JohnBriggs12]

I think this is an indication that the Brewers are willing to expand the payroll this year. I assume Vogt made it through waivers up to the Brewers because of his remaining salary. $2M is a lot to pay for a backup C who has not hit well this year, but the Brewers can afford it.

 

Maybe they can make some other upgrades without impacting the minors by picking up expensive veterans that other teams don't want.

 

For what its worth, Vogt has 2 more years of control and then is a FA in 2020.

 

 

Don't assume Vogt is a backup. I'm guessing Counsell splits his time with Pina in hopes his bat comes alive.

[JohnBriggs12]

I think bandy goes down them Franklin can be dfa'd and Brinson sent down once villar and Braun returns

 

I bet they keep Franklin for now and go back to 12 pitchers. Either Suter or Espino will return to AAA with Brinson to make room for Braun and Villar.

[brewerfan82]

Bandy started out playing over his head and now is playing worse than he really is. Vogt had a bad start to the year, but has since played about as well as he did during his two all-star campaigns. I don't think anyone thinks Bandy's as bad as he's been lately, but Vogt's the safer bet to play to his abilities the rest of the year. Throw in the added versatility and the left handed bat and it's pretty hard to complain about it. Not the biggest move in the world, but definitely a nice little maintenance move.

 

Vogt since May 14th:

.239/.357/.408/.766 in 71 ABs

 

Vogt in 2016:

.251/.305/.406/.721 in 490 ABs

 

Vogt in 2015:

.261/.341/.443/.783 in 445 ABs

[Thurston Fluff]

Nobody is lost, the major league production will be no worse off and we have more talent throughout the system. Stearns said the goal is to improve the talent throughout the system. This move does that. Good job IMHO.

[MadThinker88]

The winning aspects for me in all this is the good clubhouse presence AND the remaining years of control.

 

Besides providing greater depth behind the plate, he has been dealing with younger player groups in Oakland for a few years now. That suggests he will be a good guy for CC to lean on for the next few years.

The remaining control means an improved Vogt can be easily hung onto. If the performance does not improve, the business of baseball will continue to move forward..

[EauClaireNWL]

Worse case scenario this is a "deck chair shuffle" caliber move and you paid little except a slight increase in payroll to do it in a rebuilding year. Best case scenario he splits time and finds some offense again and upgrades the catching depth in the process.

[patrickgpe]

I think bandy goes down them Franklin can be dfa'd and Brinson sent down once villar and Braun returns

 

I bet they keep Franklin for now and go back to 12 pitchers. Either Suter or Espino will return to AAA with Brinson to make room for Braun and Villar.

what purpose does he serve?, id rather see thames in the OF and let vogt and aguilar share time at 1st then let Franklin on the roster.

[jerichoholicninja]

The only positives I've read about Vogt are his two All Star appearances (and neither of those seasons were anything special) and his "clubhouse presence". His defense is atrocious just like his hitting so far thus year. I'll give you he may be an upgrade over Bandy offensively but probably so would any of our AAA catchers. For reference both Vogt and Susac have a career 99 OPS+. I guess Vogt being a LHB makes his more appealing but about $2M more appealing? Not to me.

[Boomer5]

He's a 32 year old catcher. I doubt years of control matter.

 

Not a bad pick up since Bandy has been horrendous and we needed a decent number 2 catcher and our payroll is so low we can take him on.

[danzig6767]

The only positives I've read about Vogt are his two All Star appearances (and neither of those seasons were anything special) and his "clubhouse presence". His defense is atrocious just like his hitting so far thus year. I'll give you he may be an upgrade over Bandy offensively but probably so would any of our AAA catchers. For reference both Vogt and Susac have a career 99 OPS+. I guess Vogt being a LHB makes his more appealing but about $2M more appealing? Not to me.

The two million is irrelevant. Attanasio is going to make a ton of money this year and likely a ton more over the next few years at least as these cheap prospects keep taking up sizable chunks of the roster, along with the myriad of pre-arbitration players.

[BuckyBrewer61]

For reference both Vogt and Susac have a career 99 OPS+.

 

Big difference between career MLB stats over 1679 vs 262 plate appearances. And Susac is currently carrying an OPS of .499 in AAA this year.

 

Vogt has been bad this year, but the previous 4 years had a cumulative OPS+ of 106. I don't know the average OPS+ is for backup catchers in MLB, but I'd imagine it won't be tough for Vogt to meet and likely exceed it.

[JimH5]

I like the move. They needed to give Bandy a chance to regroup in the minors, and the price was right on Vogt. If he stinks after a month or two, there's no harm in dumping him.

 

Vogt has had major league success, and is considered a good guy (Sogard), so he's worth a flier.

[superfly]

I like the move, but would like it even more if he was able to pitch.

[JohnBriggs12]

The only positives I've read about Vogt are his two All Star appearances (and neither of those seasons were anything special) and his "clubhouse presence". His defense is atrocious just like his hitting so far thus year. I'll give you he may be an upgrade over Bandy offensively but probably so would any of our AAA catchers. For reference both Vogt and Susac have a career 99 OPS+. I guess Vogt being a LHB makes his more appealing but about $2M more appealing? Not to me.

 

Vogt was a 3.5 WAR player in 2015, and a 2.2 WAR player in 2016 per B-R as a full time regular. Susac's hitting .147 in AAA. It's hard for me to believe that at 32 Vogt simply cannot play in 2017. His BABIP this year is .244 well below his career .276 BABIP. His K and BB rates are near his career numbers. The Brewers have plenty of money with a very low payroll and he was available for zero cost in talent. It was a move they had to make. I expect similar moves as we go forward.

[JohnBriggs12]

I like the move, but would like it even more if he was able to pitch.

 

Taking a flier with a waiver claim on a hitter having an off year is one thing. Pitching that can help will cost considerably more.

[JohnBriggs12]

Worse case scenario this is a "deck chair shuffle" caliber move and you paid little except a slight increase in payroll to do it in a rebuilding year. Best case scenario he splits time and finds some offense again and upgrades the catching depth in the process.

 

Focus right now isn't on rebuilding, it's on winning a very winnable division (have you looked at the lineups the Cubs are throwing out there now?) The young talent acquisition phase of the rebuild is on hold while the division there to be won this year. Besides, their entire roster other than Sogard is controllable beyond this year. They are trying to increase the chances this year without surrendering young core and future core talent. This type of move makes sense.

[SoCalBrewfan]

It's true that Vogt is a two-time All-Star, but those were pretty bad A's teams and, as Brewers fans know all too well, someone needs to go. (The second time around he was the sole rep for a 69 win team, and was decent but not exactly MVP caliber.) That's not to say that he doesn't have some value and won't be a useful bench piece...just that one shouldn't get carried away with his credentials.