Mets Rumors: Pirates' Daniel Vogelbach Subject of Trade Talks amid DH Search

The New York Mets pursuit of a designated hitter has led them to engage in trade discussions with the Pittsburgh Pirates for slugger Daniel Vogelbach, according to SNY's Andy Martino.

New York is "working to trade" Dominic Smith and would look to also move J.D. Davis if it can land Vogelbach, per Martino.

Martino also noted the Colorado Rockies' C.J. Cron and the Washington Nationals' Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz are also targets for New York.

Vogelbach has flourished against right-handed pitching this season, posting a .260/.365/.532 slash line with 12 home runs, 27 RBI and 29 walks in 68 games. However, he has struggled against lefties, hitting just .141/.267/.156 with seven RBI and 11 walks.

The 29-year-old would still be an upgrade over Smith and Davis, even if he only plays against righties.

Smith has appeared in 58 games this season, and his splits against both righties and lefties aren't great. Overall, he's hitting .194/.276/.284 with no home runs, 17 RBI and 12 walks.

Davis has been a little better, slashing .234/.325/.345 with three home runs, 19 RBI, one stolen base and 20 walks in 62 games. However, the Mets just haven't gotten enough out of him this year.

Vogelbach has been in MLB since 2016. He played for the Seattle Mariners from 2016 up until the 2020 season, when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays and later the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Florida native spent the 2021 season in Milwaukee before joining the Pirates for the 2022 campaign. He has a $1.5 million team option for the 2023 campaign.

The Pirates are third in the NL Central with a 39-54 record, 11 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, and are expected to be sellers at this year's deadline. Realistically, the Mets shouldn't have to give up too much to land Vogelbach.

The Mets are first in the NL East with a 58-35 record, 2.5 games ahead of the second-place Atlanta Braves. Adding a slugger like Vogelbach would help the club hold off a potential late-season push by the defending World Series champions.