Milwaukee Brewers: Stephen Vogt signs one year extension

The Milwaukee Brewers announce an extension with catcher Stephen Vogt, thus avoiding arbitration.

This deal brings back Vogt for one year, and is worth three million dollars. A new deal comes on the same day that contracts need to be tendered. In total, this raises the paycheck 100k, which is not all that much. The Milwaukee Brewers now add back another piece from their great run in 2017.

Vogt will be 34 in the 2018 season, which is still fairly young. But also keep in mind that catchers age faster than other players. 2019 is another arbitration year. He will ultimately hit the free agent market in 2020 at the age of 36.

There are plenty of reasons that the Brewers would want to bring Vogt back for next year, but there are reasons not to as well. David does a great job exploring what these are. However, it is not surprising to see such a small pay bump based on the fact that last season Vogt slashed .217/.287/.357. Not the greatest numbers at the plate, especially for a guy who struggles throwing out runners.

Bringing back Vogt is not at all a bad move depending on how he is used. At the moment, he would appear to be sliding into a role as Manny Pina’s backup, which is great. But if he were to take on even a platoon role, that would not be too good for the Milwaukee Brewers.

The newly retained backstop is solid for a catcher. But Pina has done more than enough to prove worthy of a starting spot. However, as far as an insurance plan goes, Vogt is a much better option than Andrew Susac or Jeff Bandy.

One thing that Vogt can really bring to the table is through a mentor role where he helps Pina call games. Vogt is an excellent game caller. That is something he can share to help the Milwaukee Brewers in a big way.

Next: FanSided Faux GM Summary

This is not a bad move by any means. Even if Vogt takes on a bigger role, it won’t be overly detrimental. But Pina is just a better option now. As it stands, the Brewers have themselves an excellent backup, one of the best in the league in fact.