Vogt back; Oakland hopes for power from Davidson
ATLANTA — Stephen Vogt rejoined the Oakland Athletics from the injured list Tuesday, facing the team with which he won a World Series last year.
Better still: Vogt returned just in time to receive his World Series ring from the Braves before they hosted the A’s for the opener of a twogame series. Center fielder Cristian Pache, traded by Atlanta to Oakland this spring, also received his World Series ring from the Braves.
Vogt, 37, spent the latter part of 2021 with the Braves, playing in 26 games for the eventual World Series champions. He did not appear in the playoffs — he had sportshernia surgery in October — but he was in Atlanta’s dugout during its World Series run.
“It’s what you play for,” Vogt said of the ring. “It’s what I’ve been working my whole life for . ... The ring obviously represents everything — the sacrifices that you make personally, for your family, your mom and dad, your grandma and grandpa, everyone who ever took you to a practice, to a lesson, to a game, all the travel, all the sacrifices, all the hard work, all the comebacks, all the rehabs — everything was worth it. It’s always worth it, but even more so when you win a World Series and you get to get the ring to be able to commemorate that.”
Vogt sustained a knee sprain April 20 playing first base against Baltimore and was placed on the IL the next day. He appeared in just six games pre-injury, going 1for-14. Vogt played catcher and first base on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Las Vegas. Manager Mark Kotsay said Vogt could man either position, DH or pinch-hit for Oakland.
“He showed us he was ready, all the movements, all the plays he made,” Kotsay said. “It’s great to have his presence on this ballclub because he brings some leadership at a time we definitely need that.”
The A’s also selected infielder Matt Davidson from Triple-A after signing Davidson, 31, to a minor-league contract in May. Davidson has in played 298 games in the majors, primarily at third or first base, slashing .222/.292/.433 with 53 home runs. He was named PCL Player of the Week last week and was hitting .306 with 15 home runs over 32 games at Triple-A.
He was in Oakland’s lineup at third base Tuesday and went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. Kotsay said he is an option at first base.
Davidson, who debuted in 2013 with Arizona and hit 26 homers in 2017 for the White Sox, said he went through a “swing transition” that showed up last season, when he hit 28 homers in 84 games for the Dodgers’ Triple-A team.
“Walking more, striking out less, putting the ball in play more and just better angles and more home runs to all fields,” Davidson said. “I think last year was just really the breakthrough.”
In corresponding moves, the A’s optioned infielder Sheldon Neuse to Triple-A and designated reliever Parker Markel for assignment. Neuse opened this season with the A’s and hit .328 in April, but was batting .165 in 30 games since then. Markel was called up by Oakland on May 29 and made three relief appearances; he didn’t allow a run in three innings.
“It’s not easy when you send a guy out that was your best hitter for a period of time,” Kotsay said of Neuse. “Matt, at the other end of the spectrum, is swinging it really well and we felt this was an opportunity to give to Matt to come up and perform.” Matt Kawahara covers the A’s for The San Francisco Chronicle.