Daniel Vogelbach

Daniel Taylor Vogelbach (born December 17, 1992) is an American professional baseball coach and former first baseman and designated hitter who is currently an assistant hitting coach for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Vogelbach played in MLB from 2016 to 2024 for the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and New York Mets.

Vogelbach played baseball at Bishop Verot High School and played varsity baseball. He was drafted in the second round of the 2011 MLB draft by the Chicago Cubs. After spending multiple seasons in the Cubs farm system, Vogelbach was traded to the Mariners in July 2016 and made his MLB debut two months later.

Between 2016 and 2018, Vogelbach received sporadic playing time at the major league level and was frequently sent down to the minor leagues. In 2019, Vogelbach played a career-high 144 games and received an All-Star selection for his contributions at first base and designated hitter. After starting the shortened 2020 season batting .094, Vogelbach was designated for assignment by the Mariners. He played a brief two-game stint with the Blue Jays before he was waived, finishing the season with the Brewers and remaining with the team for the 2021 season, after which he was non-tendered. Vogelbach signed with the Pirates as a free agent in 2022, and was traded to the Mets midway through the season. The Mets non-tendered him after the 2023 season, and he signed as a free agent with the Blue Jays in February 2024.

Vogelbach became a coach for the Pirates in 2025, joining the Brewers after the season.

Vogelbach was born and raised in the Fort Myers, Florida area. He attended Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers, Florida. He committed to play college baseball for the Florida Gators. As a senior in high school, he had a .551 batting average with nine home runs and was The News-Press All-Area Baseball Player of the Year. At the time, he was listed at 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighing 285 pounds (129 kg).

The Chicago Cubs selected Vogelbach in the second round of the 2011 MLB draft. He made his professional debut with the Arizona League Cubs. In six games, he had a .292 average with one home run in 24 at bats. In 2012, Vogelbach started the season with the Arizona League Cubs and was promoted to the Boise Hawks during the season. At the time, he weighed over 300 pounds (140 kg). He finished the season with a slash line of .322/.410/.641 with 17 home runs and 62 runs batted in (RBI) over 245 at bats in 61 games. In 2013, Vogelbach started the season with the Kane County Cougars and was promoted to the Daytona Cubs near the end of the season. He finished the year with a .284/.375/.449 slash line and 19 home runs over 483 at bats in 131 games.

Prior to the 2014 season, he lost over 30 pounds (14 kg) to help improve his defense, and escape being labelled a "designated-hitter-only". That year, he batted .268 with 16 home runs for the Daytona Cubs. After the season, he played for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League. The Cubs added him to their 40-man roster on November 21. He played for the Tennessee Smokies of the Double-A Southern League in 2015. Vogelbach began the 2016 season with the Iowa Cubs of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League (PCL).

On July 20, 2016, the Cubs traded Vogelbach and Paul Blackburn to the Seattle Mariners for Mike Montgomery and Jordan Pries. Eric Longenhagen wrote at Fangraphs, "He’s not a good athlete and has issues with range, footwork, flexibility, and throwing accuracy. He’ll make the occasional, spectacular-looking, effort-based play but hasn’t shown enough technical refinement in his five pro seasons to convince scouts he can play a position... [he has] a complete lack of defensive or base-running value."