ATLANTA (AP) — Trying to fill another injury hole with a trade, the Atlanta Braves acquired veteran catcher Stephen Vogt from the Arizona Diamondbacks late Friday night for minor league first baseman Mason Berne.
The 36-year-old Vogt, a two-time All-Star with Oakland, batted .212 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 52 games for the major league-worst Diamondbacks this season. He has thrown out 10 of 30 runners attempting to steal.
The move came one night after the depleted Braves obtained Joc Pederson in a trade with the Chicago Cubs, bolstering their outfield after recently losing star slugger Ronald Acuña Jr. to a season-ending knee injury.
Atlanta, hoping to chase down the New York Mets and win its fourth straight NL East title, has struggled to replace injured catcher Travis d'Arnaud with the likes of Kevan Smith, William Contreras and Jonathan Lucroy.
Following a big 2020 season, d'Arnaud has played only 23 games this year and is on the 60-day injured list with torn ligaments in his left thumb. He's been progressing but is not expected back until next month.
The third-place Braves (44-46) are four games behind the NL East-leading Mets, with Philadelphia (45-45) in between.
Vogt has spent nine years in the majors playing for Tampa Bay, Oakland, Milwaukee, San Francisco and Arizona. He was an AL All-Star in 2015 and 2016 with the Athletics and is a .247 career hitter with 73 homers, 282 RBIs and a .727 OPS.
Berne, 25, was 3 for 12 (.250) with a home run and three RBIs in five games in the low minors with the FCL Braves this season. He has a .231 batting average and .659 OPS with five homers and 27 RBIs in 75 career minor league games. He was drafted by Atlanta in the 33rd round in 2018 out of UNC-Wilmington.
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