Daniel Vogelbach's hamstring injury creates void in Pirates' lineup

Ben Gamel couldn’t remember the most recent time — before the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 10-5 victory against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday — when he was used as a designated hitter.

“I couldn’t tell you. I don’t even have a memory of it. No idea. Probably in the minor leagues at some point,” he said.

A bit of research on baseball-reference.com reveals Gamel was the Seattle Mariners’ DH for three games in 2018. He was 0 for 4, which might explain the memory lapse.

Yet, DH-ing — a verb created sometime around 1973 when it was adopted by the American League — didn’t seem to bother Gamel on Wednesday. Despite striking out twice, he collected two RBIs with two singles against the Rockies to help the Pirates reach double-digit runs for the first time this season.

“Nothing at the plate changes,” he said, noting he compensates for the lack of activity by stretching between at-bats.

While preparing for the six-game West Coast trip that begins Friday in San Diego, manager Derek Shelton is contemplating a variety of designated-hitter options after Daniel Vogelbach went on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a hamstring injury. Vogelbach has been the DH in 32 of 43 games and has not picked up a glove in a game all season. The DH is a means to keep his bat in the lineup.

Shelton said losing Vogelbach is “a blow.” Despite a .241 batting average, he was hitting .311 through April. Most importantly, he leads the Pirates in home runs (six).

“He controls the strike zone. It’s a power threat in the middle of our order,” Shelton said. “It’s a point where we need to have guys step up and fill that. Hopefully, with him it’s only a 10-day thing and we get him back and healthy and get him in the middle of our order.”

The power void was filled Tuesday when Jack Suwinski and Josh VanMeter each hit a three-run homer. Suwinski, who never had played a game above Double-A before he was called to Pittsburgh on April 26, has hit five out of the park.

Vogelbach played only one full game after injuring the hamstring running to first base May 18 in Wrigley Field.

“I didn’t want to make a little thing turn into a big thing,” he said. “It’s taking the opportunity to make sure this hamstring heals and gets in a good spot.”

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said the staff is “cautiously optimistic at this point that he can return sooner than later.”

But he added, “I don’t want to pinpoint that he’ll be back at Day 11 just yet.”

Vogelbach is eligible to return June 3.

Meanwhile, Shelton had no interest in naming names, but it’s a good bet he doesn’t want to lose Gamel’s glove in the outfield. He’s played 270 consecutive games without an error — third-longest streak among MLB outfielders — and he’s never made one in two seasons (133 games) with the Pirates.

Gamel said he’ll set up anywhere his manager chooses.

“I just work here,” he said. “Wherever they want me, I’m willing.”

Now that there is some outfield depth with Cal Mitchell and Suwinski while Jake Marisnick mends his surgically repaired thumb, Shelton has more options at DH.

First baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo could be one of them because Michael Chavis has played 16 games there. Tsutsugo was 0 for 4 as the DH on Tuesday, dropping his career average in that role to .168.

“I’m sure it will be a rotational thing,” Gamel said.

Other than Vogelbach, Gamel and Tsutsugo (seven games), only Bryan Reynolds (twice) and Chavis (once) have DH-ed, but they are too valuable on defense to set up there often.

The DH isn’t a totally new concept for National League managers. It was used when an NL team visited an AL park and in the postseason in the past, as well as by both leagues during the covid-shortened season of 2020. After resisting for nearly 50 years, the NL put the rule into effect this season, adding a major-league bat to lineups and eliminating mostly weak-hitting pitchers.

But it’s difficult to find depth at the position, which will be the Pirates’ dilemma while Vogelbach is out.

“Some teams are built where they have a guy who (backs up the DH),” Shelton said. “Most teams aren’t.”