Things are starting to get intense as we round out the 2021 regular season. Teams making trades, finalizing rosters, and pushing to the postseason. For the Milwaukee Brewers, their postseason spot is basically secured with their 8.5 game lead on the Cincinnati Reds; With the Brewers having a lot of success with Rowdy Tellez at first base, where does that put Daniel Vogelbach?
What Happened?
In late June, Daniel Vogelbach was initially placed on the 10-day IL with a hamstring issue. As he went off to Nashville to complete a rehab assignment, more players who were on the COVID IL started to be reinstated. With those reinstatements, it meant that the Brewers needed to make some more roster moves. On August 22nd, Vogelbach was then placed on the 60-day IL to make room for Adrian Houser who was reinstated off the COVID IL. The 60-day trip for Vogelbach won’t put him out longer as it’ll backdate to when he first went on the IL in June.
While Vogelbach’s rehab window ends September 1, there’s a chance he’ll get his call-up back to the major leagues. However, when Daniel Vogelbach went down, the Brewers acquired Rowdy Tellez, who has proven to be the answer for the problem at first base.
Tellez has played 42 games with the Brewers and is posting a slashline of .276/.341/.491/.832 with an OPS+ of 122. He’s driven in 15, and also smashed four homers as a Brewer. Prior to his injury, Vogelbach played in 67 games; He was hitting a slashline of .216/.323/.386/.709 with an OPS+ of 91. Vogelbach had seven homeruns under his belt on the season and 16 RBI’s, respectively.
As a member of the Nashville Sounds, Vogelbach played 18 games with 65 plate appearances. In those games, he was hitting a slashline of .313/.477/.500/.977 with three homers and eight driven in.
So…What Now?
With the rosters expanding from 26 to 28 starting September 1, there is a chance that Vogelbach could get a roster spot for the upcoming weeks as the Brewers head into the postseason. Granted, I would not expect him to have an everyday playing role. As stated before, with the success of Tellez, it would be silly to put Vogelbach in over Tellez. A platoon situation could be made out of those two, but Vogelbach really would just be a bench player.
If the National League would have kept the DH, Vogelbach’s role in the starting lineup would be secured. Though, Tellez has been proving to be a huge addition for the crew. I would expect to see Vogelbach in a pinch hitting situation with Tellez getting the everyday start at first base.
Things will be interesting for the rest of the season. The Brewers are sitting in a good spot, and they’re playing to make every game count. This could potentially be a huge year for the crew, and they need the players on the roster that’ll contribute in big ways. Should Vogelbach come back, he’ll need to step it up.
Final Thoughts…
The Milwaukee Brewers have a pretty decent schedule for the remainder of the season. They will finish out their road trip this week against the Giants before playing a six-game home stand. With that lead on the NL Central, things are looking up for the Brewers as they look to bring home another NL Pennant.
Upcoming Games for the Brewers:
08/30-09/02: @ San Francisco
09/03-09/05: HOME v St. Louis
09/06-09/08: HOME v Philadelphia
09/10-09/12: @ Cleveland
09/14-09/15: @ Detroit
09/17-09/19: HOME v Chicago Cubs
09/20-09/23: HOME v St. Louis
09/24-09/26: HOME v New York Mets
09/28-09/30: @ St. Louis
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