Daniel Vogelbach: Offseason additions show ‘Mets are all in’

As somebody who has spent most of his career playing for teams at the low end of the payroll spectrum, Daniel Vogelbach is appreciative of what has transpired with the Mets this winter.

It’s an offseason in which team owner Steve Cohen has approved roughly $465 million in new contracts as the Mets attempt to compete for a World Series title next season.

“It shows that the Mets are all in,” Vogelbach said Tuesday at a Target on Queens Boulevard, where he participated in the team’s Holiday Shopping Spree that benefited children of Women in Need. “When you sign up to play sports, you sign up to win, that is why you play. It feels good to be a part of a team that wants to win.

“You have got a lineup and you have still got to play. Winning is hard no matter what product you put out there, but when you feel like you have the support of ownership and front office and they are trying to put the best product out there to win as many games as possible, that is what you want to be a part of.

Vogelbach, who arrived last July in a trade with the Pirates, had his team option picked up after the season and is expected to form half of a platoon at DH, as the left-handed bat. Last season he owned a .255/.393/.436 slash line with six homers and 25 RBIs in 55 games for the Mets.

“I knew coming over that was going to be my role and I think the nature of the game is going in that direction,” Vogelbach said. “There is a lot of platooning unless you are one of those guys like Francisco Lindor or somebody who is getting paid a lot of money, you are probably going to platoon. As long as they give me a jersey to play and give me an opportunity I am thankful for it.”

Vogelbach, who has played for the Mariners and Brewers in addition to the Pirates, said he felt as if he belonged from the moment he arrived to the Mets.

“It was pretty easy to get comfortable with the clubhouse and the players we have on this team,” Vogelbach said. “I said it from the day that I was here: It was the best clubhouse that I walked in and I don’t think it was really close. When you have veterans that have played for 10, 12, 15 years, and they treat everybody the same, you know that is a winning clubhouse and it’s pretty easy to walk into a place like that.”