Yoshi & Vogey: Pirates' odd couple sharing laughs, first base, designated hitter duties

BRADENTON, Fla. — Daniel Vogelbach greeted the media contingent that follows Yoshi Tsutsugo with a bow and a smile in the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse at LECOM Park, teasing his new teammate about being covered as if he were the president of Japan.

When asked about the fast friendship he has developed with Vogelbach this spring training, Tsutsugo cracked a sly smile and played coy.

“There’s no reason not to get along with him,” Tsutsugo said through interpreter Brian Tobin. “I don’t know. It must be his personality. He gets along with everybody.”

Tsutsugo and Vogelbach have become the Pirates’ odd couple, a pair of free-agent signees with designs on providing some pop while sharing first base and designated hitter duties and comic relief inside a young clubhouse where they are known as Yoshi and Vogey.

They hit it off from the very start, laughing while doing activation work and first base fielding drills together the first day of camp. Vogelbach’s outgoing personality appears to have rubbed off on Tsutsugo, who appears less reserved this spring than he was late last summer.

“I don’t think it’s just Yoshi,” Vogelbach said. “It’s kind of how I am. I pride myself in being a good teammate. One of the No. 1 things about being a good teammate is knowing your teammates. Getting to know them, not only on the field but off the field and having their trust. That’s what I’ve been able to do over the years. Hopefully, I can continue to do it. With Yoshi and I being around each other with first base and being in the same groups, I think we just spent more time together than others.”

The Pirates are counting on both players to add power to a lineup that lost 21 home runs and 86 RBIs after Gregory Polanco and Colin Moran were released last year. Tsutsugo and Vogelbach are attempting to recapture the success of their best seasons, from which they are several years removed.

Tsutsugo, 30, hit 205 homers in 10 seasons in the Nippon Baseball League before signing with the Tampa Bay Rays for $12 million over two years but hasn’t produced consistently in his two MLB seasons. After hitting eight homers with 24 RBIs for Tampa Bay in the truncated 2020 season, Tsutsugo hit .167 with the Rays and .120 with the Los Angeles Dodgers before being released last August.

Tsutsugo found more playing time with the Pirates and slashed .268/.347/.535 with eight homers with 25 RBIs in 43 games. Pirates manager Derek Shelton has indicated that he plans to bat Tsutsugo in the middle of the order and will use him at both first base and DH.

“Wherever the manager tells me to play, I’ll play my best,” said Tsutsugo, who is embracing the addition of the universal DH. “I think it’s a really good opportunity for any of the position players because you get to play more.”

Tsutsugo has continued the hot hitting this spring, going 6 for 12 with two doubles, one homer and three RBIs in five Grapefruit League games. But he can be superstitious, even after going 3 for 3 with a double and a walk Saturday night.

Shelton shared a story when Tobin, who translates Tsustugo’s interviews and shadows him everywhere, received an Oscar-replica trophy as the team’s coach of the day award for his “meticulous note-keeping.” Last season, Shelton put Tobin in a uniform one day “for fun,” until Tsutsugo insisted Tobin return to wearing shorts and a T-shirt in the dugout.

“Four at-bats, no hits, one error,” Tobin said solemnly, while translating for Tsutsugo. “I’m never going to wear a uniform again.”

Vogelbach wore an All-Star uniform to represent the Seattle Mariners in 2019, when he hit 30 homers and had 76 RBIs. When he started the following season by batting .094 through 18 games, Vogelbach was traded to Toronto for cash. The Blue Jays designated him for assignment, and Vogelbach was claimed off waivers by Milwaukee.

With the Brewers, he hit seven homers and had 16 RBIs in the first half last season but spent 60 days on the injured list with a “significant” left hamstring strain followed by a foot injury. He lost his starting job to the platoon of Rowdy Tellez and Eduardo Escobar.

“You’re just trying to get him back to the best version of him, and that was pretty obvious. It was the first half of ‘19, when he was just a very, very productive offensive player,” said Pirates hitting coach Andy Haines, who coached Vogelbach in Milwaukee. “Some of the surface-level numbers don’t really show how valuable he was, but he’s off to a great camp, he’s understanding himself more and more, like most players do the more they play. He’s off to a great start in camp.”

Vogelbach is batting .231 with a double this spring but it’s his .375 on-base percentage the Pirates like. Despite his 6-foot, 270-pound frame, Shelton has twice started Vogelbach in the leadoff spot for the first time in his career to take advantage of his ability to draw as many hits as walks. Vogelbach went 2 for 3 with a run scored Saturday at the Orioles.

“No matter where you hit in the lineup, you are the hitter that you are,” Vogelbach said. “For me, it’s just getting on base and when they make mistakes, just drive the ball. Whether I’m hitting first or I’m hitting ninth, that’s what I pride myself on doing.”

Neither Tsutsugo nor Vogelbach has ever served strictly as a designated hitter, so they seem intent on sharing the positional duties — especially if it keeps their lefty bats in the lineup and their teammates laughing.