The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced the signing of free agent first baseman Daniel Vogelbach (pronounced Voh-guhl-back) and right-handed pitcher Heath Hembree to one-year contracts for the 2022 season. The announcement was made by General Manager Ben Cherington.
The 29-year-old Vogelbach hit .219 (47-for-215) with eight doubles, nine home runs and 24 RBI in 93 games last season with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Vogelbach was named to the American League All-Star team as a member of the Seattle Mariners during the 2019 season after hitting a career-high 30 home runs with 76 RBI while also finishing fifth in the American League with 92 walks.
Vogelbach has produced a career average of .209 (192-for-919) with 31 doubles, 49 home runs and 131 RBI in 337 games with Seattle (2016-20), Toronto (2020) and Milwaukee (2020-21). He has made 149 appearances at first base and 130 as the designated hitter during his six Major League seasons.
The 33-year-old Hembree recorded a career-high 83 strikeouts in a combined 58.0 innings in 60 relief appearances last season between Cincinnati and New York (NL). His 83 strikeouts finished tied for 11th among all National League relievers while his 12.88 strikeouts per 9.0 innings was a career-high.
Hembree, who finished the 2021 season with a career-high nine saves, also limited right-handed hitters to a .181 batting average against (25-for-138) for the season.
Hembree has gone 18-12 with 11 saves, a 4.19 ERA (333.2ip/155er) and 375 strikeouts in 331 career relief appearances in the big leagues with San Francisco (2013), Boston (2014-20), Philadelphia (2020), Cincinnati (2021) and the New York Mets (2021).
To make room on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitchers Blake Cederlind (right elbow) and Nick Mears (right elbow) have been placed on the 60-day injured list. Mears had arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow performed on February 9 to clean up scar tissue.
