Pirates sign 1B/DH Daniel Vogelbach, righty reliever Heath Hembree to 1-year contracts

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Pittsburgh Pirates added some pop to their lineup and an arm to their bullpen Tuesday by signing a pair of free agents who have played in the NL Central.

The Pirates signed slugger Daniel Vogelbach, a 2019 All-Star who can play first base and designated hitter, and right-handed reliever Heath Hembree.

Per a source, Vogelbach signed a one-year deal for $1 million ($800,000 plus a $200,000 buyout of an option) with a second-year option for $1.5 million, with $400,000 in incentives, and Hembree signed for one year at $2.125 million.

The 6-foot, 270-pound Vogelbach hit 30 of his 49 career home runs with the Seattle Mariners in 2019. He played the past two seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers, where he worked with new Pirates hitting coach Andy Haines and batted .219/.349/.381 with nine homers and 24 RBIs in 93 games last season. Two of his homers last season came in a 6-5 10-inning loss to the Pirates on April 18 in Milwaukee.

“When my number is called, whenever that is, I just try to get a good at-bat, put a good swing on it and if it goes out of the park, it goes out of the park,” said Vogelbach, 29. “I’m just trying to hit the ball hard.”

New Pirates 1B/DH Daniel Vogelbach, who homered twice in one game agains them last April, on bringing a power presence to a lineup that lacks pop. pic.twitter.com/tFGeeGWL8Z

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) March 15, 2022

Vogelbach has played 149 games at first base and 130 as DH in six seasons with the Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays and Brewers, and Pirates manager Derek Shelton said it’s possible he could platoon at both spots with Yoshi Tsutsugo.

“He can swing the bat,” Shelton said, “(and is an) unbelievable guy in the clubhouse.”

Hembree is 18-12 with 11 saves, a 4.19 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 331 appearances in a nine-year career spent with the San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds. The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder relies on a four-seam fastball that averages 95.3 mph and a slider that drew a 36.9% whiff rate last year, when he was 2-7 with a 5.59 ERA in 58 innings with the Mets and Reds.

“Hembree we’ve seen pitch at different parts of the game,” Shelton said. “As we’ve talked about, we need to add arms to our bullpen. I was excited to get Heath in here.”

Hembree averaged 14.5 strikeouts per nine innings in 45 appearances with the Reds, holding right-handed hitters to a .181 batting average.

“I felt like last year was one of my better seasons,” said Hembree, who is eyeing a back-end bullpen role for the Pirates. “I’m not really sure but, obviously, being a bullpen guy you want to pitch in higher-leverage situations in the game. I know that spot is earned.”

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Pirates placed right-handed relievers Blake Cederlind and Nick Mears on the 60-day injured list. Cederlind underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow last year. Mears had arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow Feb. 9 to clear up scar tissue.