And the catcher Steven Vogt agreed to a major league contract pending physical, according to Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle (link to twitter). Vogt is a client of All Bases Covered Sports Management.
This is a return to the organization of Vogt, who spent his best seasons in the “A”. The left-back played in Oakland from 2013 to 2017, hitting .255/.316/.416 during that stretch. By wRC+ standards, this is the average level of offense in the league, but Vogt had several seasons above average during this period. In total, he hit 27 homers with a .268/.333/.438 line in 798 plate appearances from 2014 to 2015.
The amiable Vogt has become a fan favorite in Oakland’s four-plus seasons, including an All-Star appearance in 2015-16. However, his performance dipped towards the end of his run there as he was only .217/.287/.357 starting in 54 games in 2017. Brewers. He hit eight homers on the reserve with Milwaukee that year, but missed most of the following season with a strained shoulder.
Vogt recovered from his injury in 2019. He returned to the Bay Area with the Giants and hit .263/.314/.490 in 280 trips to the plate. On the other hand, the last two years have been a serious struggle. Vogt hit .188/.274/.319 in 102 games split between the D-Backs and Braves. He ended last season on the injured list with hip inflammation, which kept him out of Atlanta’s fight for the World Series title.
At 37, Vogt, who has had several bad seasons in a row, is bottom of the class in catching free agents this winter. He will return to a familiar environment where he is loved by a significant portion of the fans, providing skipper Mark Kotsay with both a valuable presence in the club and an option for depth in the catcher. Sean Murphy clearly in line for most of the playing time at the plate, with impossible options Austin Allen the only other support on the list of 40 people. Oakland will have to leave camp with the 28-year-old Allen or appoint him for assignment, but Vogt’s arrival could jeopardize his time with the organization.
It is possible that Murphy will change form in the coming weeks. This winter, the “A”s began an organizational reset, flipping Chris Bassitt, Matt Olson as well as Matt Chapman in an attempt to cut costs. Signing Vogt to what is undoubtedly a low-cost deal will have no impact on the front office’s attitude towards Murphy, who is in control until 2025 and is not yet eligible for arbitration. That makes Murphy a long shot, but if the A’s do turn him around before Opening Day, Vogt and Allen will be counting on taking the lion’s share of playing time. Oakland has indeed acquired a promising player Shea Langelier from the Braves in a deal with Olson, giving them another promising long-term option for the position.
“A”‘s wage-cutting efforts spilled over into the realm of free agency, where the club did next to nothing this winter. Once finalized, Vogt’s contract will be Vogt’s first (and quite possibly only) major league “A” contract of the off-season. They were the only team not to sign a major league player. Vogt will add them to the board, but that’s probably only minor consolation for the fan base, which has seen several respected players get eliminated after the lockout ended.