Brewers C Vogt faces decision on career-threatening surgery

Milwaukee Brewers veteran catcher and fan favorite Stephen Vogt shed tears while revealing to reporters Tuesday that a setback during his shoulder-injury rehab threatens the rest of his season and possibly his career.

Vogt, 33, initially injured his right shoulder during spring training. He sustained a strained shoulder capsule after reportedly working all offseason on strengthening his arm after throwing out just one of 28 attempted base-stealers last season. During the end of his rehab assignment at Double-A Biloxi on Saturday night, Vogt hurt his arm on a throw to third base.

An MRI showed damage to Vogt's capsule, rotator cuff and labrum inside his shoulder. The six-year major league veteran faces a decision on a surgery that not only would mean the end of his hopes to play this season, but which he says may end his playing career.

"This is a big blow," said an emotional Vogt, who also had shoulder surgery in 2009 as a minor-leaguer in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. "The biggest emotion is sadness. It's hard. I'm upset. I worked really hard my whole life and career to help win games. When you can't help your teammates win games on the field, it's really hard.

"Obviously, there are big implications here with a second shoulder injury like this that I don't like to think about but I am thinking about. I felt everything go wrong that could go wrong with a shoulder. I had labrum surgery nine years ago, so there's a lot of unknowns. I know what that means going forward. It's definitely weighing on me."

Vogt does not plan to make a final decision until getting a second opinion next week.

"Stephen was a guy coming back who could have provided some of that (left-handed) balance. We miss that part of him," said Brewers manager Craig Counsell. "He's also exceptional in the clubhouse. He's a leader. He just flat out is a leader. He did a tremendous job of that last year, even with a new team."

The Brewers acquired Vogt from the Oakland Athletics midway through last season. The 33-year-old hit .254 with eight home runs and 20 RBIs in 45 games with Milwaukee, taking over as the team's starting catcher as the Brewers fought for a postseason berth.

Vogt, a two-time All-Star for the A's, is a career .251 hitter with 57 home runs and 218 RBIs. The part-time, left-handed hitting backstop reached All-Star status in 2015 and 2016 -- the only seasons of his career he has played in more than 100 games. He has averaged 14.7 homers per season over the past three seasons.

Manny Pina and Jett Bandy are expected to continue splitting time behind the plate for the Brewers.

--Field Level Media