11:10: The Padres also announced the deal by posting the right Michelle Baez on the injured list for 60 days to create a place on the 40-man list for Voight.
11:04: The Yankees announced the deal.
10:47: The Padres and the Yankees agreed to trade a player from first base. Luke Voight from New York to San Diego, according to MLB Network’s John Heyman (link to twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets this minor league right-hander Justin Lang instead returns to the Yankees. Lange, 20, was selected 34th overall in the 2020 draft, but had to deal with Padres rookies in his pro debut last year.
The letter for Voit has been on the wall at least since New York re-signed. Anthony Rizzo — and possibly even longer. The Yankees acquired Rizzo last summer while Voight was on the injured list for the third time this year alone, and have been linked with Rizzo since the 2021 season ended. Freddie Freeman as well as Matt Olson as they made no secret of the fact that they were looking for alternatives to the current Voit.
Voight’s trademark is the culmination of the organization’s rapidly changing attitude towards it. Just a year ago, Voight was heading into spring training as a daily baseman, having just led the Majors with 22 home runs in a shortened 2020 season. However, a knee injury in camp led to meniscal surgery that ruled Voight out of action for the first six weeks of the season. Voight returned in early May, but only two weeks later went back to the 10-day IL due to an oblique deformity. The problem caused Voight to miss another three-plus weeks, and he only lasted a month before returning to IL in mid-July due to lingering inflammation in his surgically repaired left knee.
Overall, in 2021, Voight made just 68 appearances and 211 plate appearances. When he was on the field, Voight remained fairly productive, hitting .239/0.328/0.427 (111 wRC+), but his offensive performance was nowhere near the best. its peak levels. Looking to the Majors’ lead in long assists during the short 2020 season, Voight has been raking in since the Yankees acquired him from the Cardinals in exchange for pitchers. Chasen Shreve as well as Giovanni Gallegos.
Largely barred from playing in St. Louis, Foyt was immediately a hidden gem discovered by the Yankees. He hit 14 home runs in less than two months in 2018, and in 892 games as a Yankee from 18 to 20, he batted .279/.372/.543 with 57 home runs, 31 doubles. , a triple, and a walking rate of 11.5% versus a strikeout rate of 26.3%. Even adding to his “bad” year last season, Voight’s time with the Yankees is coming to an end with a solid .271/.363/.520 batting line in 1,133 plate appearances.
This type of production would be an incentive for any lineup, and in particular the Padres could use some of this sort of hitting on first base and/or designated hitter. San Diego first basemen led by Eric Hosmer, hit a combined .275/.337/.412. It’s by no means a terrible production, but the resulting 106 wRC+ finished 20th in the majors. More worryingly, the Padres as a team only hit .241/.324/.380 against a left-handed serve (94 wRC+, 24th in MLB). Voight, a professional hitter .264/.344/.516 against a southpaw, should be particularly useful for this handicap, though it’s important to note that he shouldn’t be seen as a platoon player. On the contrary, Voight actually has somewhat better career records compared to his right hand serve.
Not all.