Daniel Vogelbach DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Former first baseman/designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach has been hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a special assistant to the hitting department for the 2025 season. Vogelbach will begin his post-playing career after playing in 31 games for the Toronto Blue Jays last year and hitting just .186/.278/.300 with a .578 OPS, one home run and eight RBI in 79 plate appearances. The 32-year-old left-handed slugger began the 2022 campaign with the Pirates and hit .228 (54-for-237) with 12 home runs and 34 RBI in 75 games played. Vogelbach was originally a second-round selection by the Chicago Cubs in 2011. He broke into the big leagues with the Seattle Mariners in 2016 and was named to his only All-Star team in his final full season with Seattle in 2019. Over the course of nine MLB seasons, Vogelbach hit .219/.340/.405 with 81 home runs and 246 RBI in 602 games played for five different organizations.

Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach exploded with three hits in Sunday's win over the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays, homering, doubling, and singling with three runs scored. Having barely played for the Jays in 2024, Vogelbach came out nowhere with this effort after first tagging Rays right-hander Aaron Civale for a solo shot to get Toronto on the scoreboard in the second inning. Don't expect Sunday's performance to become a habit for the 31-year-old righty masher, who is still batting just .171 with a .594 OPS, the aforementioned homer, and four RBI over 41 at-bats, but with Justin Turner in a brutal slump, it could help him carve out a more consistent role at the DH spot going forward. Vogelbach is going to be hard-pressed for ABs when Joey Votto (ankle) eventually returns to the mix, though.

Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Davis Schneider, utility bat Daniel Vogelbach, and infielder Ernie Clement have all made the opening day roster. Schneider should see a decent amount of playing time at second base, either as a platoon with Cavan Biggio or as the outright second baseman with Biggio shifting around the diamond. Vogelbach will likely be a bench bat and could fill in at DH when Justin Turner is playing in the field or taking a day off. Clement will be a bench infielder for the club. Schneider has the most appeal in fantasy and could be worth a speculative add in deeper leagues.