Vogelbach 'excited' about joining contender

NEW YORK -- When Daniel Vogelbach found out Friday that he had been traded to the Mets, he wanted to know what it would be like to play in New York. So he got ahold of an old friend -- his former teammate with the Mariners, and once a fellow Mets left-handed slugger: Jay Bruce.

"He had nothing but unbelievable things to say about [New York]," Vogelbach said Saturday. "He just told me to enjoy, and I was going to have the time of my life."

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The Mets' newest big bat has arrived in Flushing. And the 6-foot, 270-pound designated hitter, who has 12 home runs this year ahead of his Mets debut, is ready to slug for a contender.

"It definitely goes to playing more meaningful baseball pretty fast," Vogelbach said. "I'm excited to be here these last 2 1/2 months of the regular season, where every game matters. I got a little taste of it last year, being with Milwaukee and playing meaningful games for the first time in my career. Once you get a little taste of it, you want more and you want more."

Vogelbach, with his big personality, should fit right in with the Mets. It turns out, he has plenty of Mets connections already -- not just former Mets like Bruce, but more than one member of the current clubhouse.

Taijuan Walker also played with Vogelbach in Seattle, where Vogelbach was an All-Star in 2019. Walker, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound right-hander, brought Vogelbach to manager Buck Showalter's office when he got to Citi Field on Saturday afternoon to meet his new skipper.

"Taijuan brought him in here like his escort," Showalter said. "That was a couple of big men in my office."

Vogelbach also goes way back with Mets star shortstop Francisco Lindor. Vogelbach and Lindor played on the same travel ball team in high school: FTB Mizuno in Florida, a Cardinals scout team.

"He was just like he is right now," Lindor said of Vogelbach with a laugh. "He's funny, he's very outgoing, not shy about anything -- and he can hit."

Vogelbach, for his part, had just as much praise for Lindor.

"He's just as good now as he was back then," Vogelbach said. "I can't talk highly enough about the person that he was then, and playing against him it seems like he's the same guy now. The guy always has a smile on his face … He's just a flat-out good human being."

Mets catcher Tomás Nido was on that team, too. He remembers Vogelbach the same way Lindor does.

"It's hard to forget," Nido said, laughing. "He's a great clubhouse guy. He's going to fit right in. One of the funniest teammates I had back then. … He's a character on and off the field. Everybody's excited."

But most excited of all is Vogelbach.

"To be wanted by a team that has one goal in mind -- and that's to win the World Series -- that makes you feel good, and it makes you want to play," he said.

When he thought back to what Bruce told him Friday night about playing in front of Mets fans in New York, he couldn't help but smile.

"[He told me] that this is about as big league as you can get," Vogelbach said. "This is what you dream of. When you're a little kid and you want to play in the big leagues … this is the big leagues. Hearing it from a guy like [Bruce] who's accomplished so much and been around, to talk so highly of a place -- it must be that good."