Detroit Tigers should bring in Stephen Vogt as Victor Martinez fill-in

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May 6, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jesse Hahn (left) and catcher Stephen Vogt (right) look towards the bullpen during the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports /

Detroit Tigers fans will see a team without Victor Martinez for the time being as the designated hitter is sidelined with an irregular heartbeat. Stephen Vogt makes sense a potential fill-in.

Detroit Tigers front are currently in a tough situation. The team are built to win, but they haven’t had the best start to the season.

The good news is that there is plenty of time to make ground in the playoff race. Despite a 32-39 record, the Tigers are only 5.5 games back of a playoff spot.

In other good news, Detroit clearly has the talent to make it happen.

Justin Verlander turned in an extremely encouraging start on Wednesday in Seattle, while an offense featuring Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez, Ian Kinsler and Justin Upton is never truly out of a game.

While the Tigers’ core offensive players have been dependable this season, the team has at times lacked depth at the bottom of the lineup.

Over the course of 2017, Detroit has used players such as Alex Presley (81 wRC+), Andrew Romine (74 wRC+), Tyler Collins (68 wRC+), James McCann (67 wRC+) and JaCoby Jones (28 wRC+) in filling out the bottom third of the lineup.

Now, with Victor Martinez sidelined due to an irregular heartbeat, the team is in more need of offensive help in terms of hitting after the elite sluggers.

Martinez’ injury has meant J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton have both moved up in the lineup. When Nicholas Castellanos isn’t hitting second, he’s also been moved up to the sixth spot in the order.

This leaves a combination of the likes of Presley, Romine and McCann seeing regular at-bats further down the lineup.

One player who could help fill in is Stephen Vogt.

Stephen Vogt

The former All-Star was recently designated for assignment by the Oakland Athletics.

Oakland announced the move in a tweet on the team’s official Twitter account on Thursday morning.

The A’s tweeted:

“#Athletics designate Stephen Vogt for assignment; place Matt Chapman on the DL; recall Bruce Maxwell and Matt Olson from Nashville.”

Vogt, who per Spotrac has a $2.965 million salary for this season, would be an ideal waiver claim candidate.

Given the Detroit Tigers’ low place in the standings, the team should be using this opportunity to acquire useful pieces on waivers to help the team turn things around for the rest of the campaign.

Vogt could be one of those pieces.

Only Oakland and Chicago are below Detroit in terms of records.

In this scenario, the Tigers would only need the White Sox to pass on Vogt given that the A’s were the team to designate him for assignment.

The backstop struggled somewhat this season (73 wRC+, .278 wOBA), but he carries an excellent track record.

From 2014 to 2016, the 32-year-old hit .261 with a .322 on-base percentage, a .425 slugging percentage and a .747 OPS. He averaged 54 RBI, 46 runs scored, 20 doubles, 14 home runs and two triples in 119 games per year in that span.

In the same three-year period, Vogt notched wRC+ numbers of 115, 116 and 93 respectively.

Apr 28, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Oakland Athletics catcher Stephen Vogt (21) makes a throw to second as Detroit Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez (not pictured) advances on a wild pitch during the sixth inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

Potential fit with the Detroit Tigers

Given the team’s current needs, Vogt is a near perfect fit for the Tigers.

He can serve as a designated hitter with Martinez out, or fill in at catcher or first base. In these scenarios, Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila can see time at designated hitter, keeping them fresh for the stretch run.

Vogt has also played the outfield corners in the past.

While that doesn’t seem likely to happen much in Detroit, the veteran could fill on occasion.

The Tigers could also use Vogt in a platoon with Avila behind the dish and send James McCann to Toledo.

McCann has hit for more power this year, but he’s registered a .255 on-base percentage in 150 plate appearances this year.

He’s also thrown out just 28% of would-be base stealers, down from 45% last year and 41% in his rookie campaign.

The catcher has also allowed four passed balls and 13 wild pitches this season. Last year, he had just four past balls and 22 wild pitches on his stat line.

Long-term

Despite being 32, Vogt still has two years of arbitration eligibility left. He could be deployed as occasional starter and bench cog.

Next: Buy or sell, the Tigers should make this J.D. Martinez trade

Worst case scenario, if the Tigers end up as sellers down the road in 2017, they could flip the veteran for pieces for the future.

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Detroit Tigers fans will see a team without Victor Martinez for the time being as the designated hitter is sidelined with an irregular heartbeat. Stephen Vogt makes sense a potential fill-in.

Stephen Vogt

Potential fit with the Detroit Tigers

Long-term

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