Stay or Go: Should Mets pick up Daniel Vogelbach's option for 2023?

After the Mets acquired Daniel Vogelbach from the Pittsburgh Pirates ahead of the 2022 trade deadline, Vogelbach gave them pretty much what they expected.

As the long end of the DH platoon with Darin Ruf, the lefty-swinging Vogelbach came out of the gate hot as a Met, with multi-hit games in four of his first 10 games played before cooling off a bit.

Overall, Vogelbach did his job -- adding some more thump to the lineup (he had six homers and nine doubles in 149 at-bats) while slashing .255/.393/.436 as he faced mostly right-handed pitchers.

One issue, which wasn't Vogelbach's fault, was that Ruf's ineffectiveness made mush out of the Mets' plan to have a two-headed monster at DH. Vogelbach did his part, Ruf did not. And Ruf's failures combined with Vogelbach's shortcomings against left-handers led to the Mets scrambling for a righty DH for the rest of the season. 

During his brief time in Queens, Vogelbach quickly became a fan favorite (he briefly made "Milk Shake" by Kelis his walkup song) and a favorite of teammates, who wore shirts with Vogelbach's face on them.

Entering his age-30 season in 2023, the Mets have a $1.5 million club option on Vogelbach. Should they pick it up?

WHY IT COULD MAKE SENSE TO LET VOGELBACH GO

Vogelbach has some really good attributes with the bat, which we'll delve into deeper below, but he's a very limited player at the plate, in the field, and on the bases.

Because of how poorly he has hit during his career against left-handers, Vogelbach is basically only usable against right-handed pitching. 

Vogelbach slashed a paltry .139/.262/.153 with zero homers in 84 plate appearances against lefties in 2022, and has hit just .136/.257/.227 with six homers against them in his career. 

That means that if Vogelbach starts a game against a right-handed pitcher, he'll usually have to be removed once a left-handed reliever enters. it should also be noted that while Vogelbach is very good against righties, his calm approach and selectivity at the plate can often be to his detriment, as he has a tendency to let hittable pitches go by without offering. 

Vogelbach is also close to unplayable in the field.

The only position he can play is first base, but he made just five appearances there (zero starts) for the Pirates in 2022. The Mets used him as a DH only. Vogelbach played first base with some regularity in 2021, but was worth -4 DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) in just 59 games.

Vogelbach is also a bit of a liability on the bases due to his size.

The above means that Vogelbach is usually a station-to-station guy when it's early enough in the game to keep him in when he reaches base, but someone you pretty much have to pinch-run for in late-game situations where the score is close. 

WHY IT COULD MAKE SENSE TO KEEP VOGELBACH

He's a really good hitter against right-handers and gets on base a lot.

For his career, Vogelbach has hit .238/.364/.458 against righties, but was better than that in 2022 as he slashed .261/.382/.497 against them.

A look at the Mets' 40-man roster shows that they're not flush with guys who can be expected to provide thump against right-handed pitching in a part time role.

Lefty-hitting Luis Guillorme handles righties very well but provides very little power, and Dominic Smith is a non-tender candidate. 

As far as prospects who can help, Mark Vientos comes to mind, but he's better against left-handers. 

Brett Baty could be a weapon against righties, but as one of the Mets' top prospects and perhaps their third baseman of the future, it would make little sense to have him in a role where he's not getting plenty of exposure in the field.

The Mets could look to add a lefty slugger via free agency or trade, but it would be kind of weird to do that with Vogelbach already here and his option for 2023 so inexpensive.

VERDICT

The Mets should pick up Vogelbach's option, but do so with the intention of having him be a bench bat/pinch-hitting option and someone who can occasionally DH against right-handers.

In that role, the Mets won't have to worry much about pinch-hitting for Vogelbach in the middle of games. And with him in a part time role, the negative trickle down on the in-game strategy will be greatly lessened.

When it comes to a DH, the Mets should find a guy who can hit well against both lefties and righties. One who comes to mind is pending free agent Jose Abreu.