Minor league FA Vogt holds out on deal in union solidarity

By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Baseball Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Nine-year major league veteran Stephen Vogt was eligible to sign a free agent contract in recent months due to a quirk of roster management, but he preferred to wait and stand by his big league brotherhood locked out by owners. Baseball’s work stoppage ended Thursday when players accepted management’s offer for a new labor contract that salvaged a 162-game season starting April 7. Vogt has been a minor league free agent after a “paperwork move” kept him with the World Series-winning Braves following late-season surgery. Vogt says he’s “thankful to be part of the union, but at the same time, I’m excited to play.”