Vogt enters pennant race with Brewers
CHICAGO — Catcher Stephen Vogt was claimed off waivers by the Brewers on Sunday morning, putting the two-time All-Star right in the middle of a pennant race.
Milwaukee, which leads the NL Central by a 1½ games over the Cubs, was the only team to put in a waiver claim for Vogt. Typically, players are placed on waivers once trade attempts prove unfruitful.
The A’s team leader was designated for assignment Thursday when catcher Bruce
Maxwell was called up from Triple-A Nashville. Vogt was batting .217 with four homers and 20 RBIs. The Brewers are responsible for the remainder of his $2.965 million salary. Milwaukee manager Craig
Counsell is close friends with A’s manager Bob Melvin and, like Vogt, is one of Melvin’s favorite former players.
“I couldn’t be happier for Stephen,” Melvin said. “He’s in good hands, and I told him that.”
Vogt also joins former A’s infielder Eric Sogard, who is batting .353 for the Brewers. Chapman out of hospital: Melvin said third baseman Matt Chapman was released from the hospital after four days of treatment for a left knee infection. The team had hoped that Chapman might return Thursday, but that appears less likely after a longer-than-expected hospitalization. Briefly: A’s second baseman
Jed Lowrie, who pinch hit in the seventh Sunday, might see a doctor in Houston about his mild right knee sprain, he said. ... Sean Doolittle retired all six batters he faced in the A’s three-game series in Chicago, striking out four of them. Sixteen of his 17 pitches were strikes . ... The A’s got back-toback homers (Adam Rosales and Matt Joyce) Sunday for the fourth time this season.