Former Brewers fan favorite first baseman left searching for a new home

Not many things went right for the Milwaukee Brewers offense during the Covid-shortened 2020 season. One of the few things that did was when the team acquired a first baseman who quickly endeared himself to fans with his offensive prowess and large stature.

Daniel Vogelbach began the 2020 season on the Toronto Blue Jays before being designated for assignment to begin September and claimed by the Brewers. He would only play in 19 games with Milwaukee that year but would crush four homers and two doubles while driving in 12 on his way to a .987 OPS in that small amount of time.

Vogey wouldn't end up repeating his success the following year, hitting eight doubles and nine homers in 93 games with a .730 OPS, eventually ending the season on the injured list. With another former Blue Jay in Rowdy Tellez in tow at first base and performing at a higher level, Vogelbach would be non-tendered the following offseason.

Vogelbach would bounce around between the Pirates and Mets the next two seasons, putting up decent numbers with both and playing in a combined 234 games those two years. As a free agent for 2024, he would be brought back into the Toronto organization on a minor league contract and make the team out of spring training.

Though he would start the season with the Blue Jays, former Brewers fan favorite Daniel Vogelbach is now back on the free agent market.

Though not a full-time starter with the Blue Jays, Vogelbach saw a decent enough amount of playing time with Toronto this season, playing in 31 of the team's 68 games up through June 12th. Oddly enough, that last game was against the Brewers themselves where he went 0-for-1 with a walk.

Unfortunately, Vogelbach could never quite get going with the Jays. In 79 plate appearances, the first baseman slashed just .186/.278/.300 and had just a single home run while driving in eight. His 67 OPS+ was the lowest since his 2017 season in which he only even played in 16 games.

That performance led Toronto, who had let go multiple underperforming players in recent weeks, to designate the 31-year-old for assignment. When no other MLB team ended up claiming him, the Blue Jays flat out released him, making him a free agent.

Vogelbach was still able to produce the last couple years so there's always a chance another team signs him to a minor league contract again in hopes he'll get in a groove and earn himself another call up to the majors. Here's hoping he does, because a league with Vogey in it is always a more fun one.