Foot pain keeps Vogt from catching, not hitting

OAKLAND -- Stephen Vogt has a bone bruise in his right foot that has kept him from catching lately, but the A's need his bat in the lineup, and Vogt plans to continue playing through it.

The issue certainly doesn't seem to be slowing Vogt down offensively. He entered Wednesday hitting .361 since his June 1 callup, which is tops in the Majors among players with at least 100 plate appearances.

"It's been going on for a while," Vogt said of the injury. "I wouldn't say there's any particularity, it's just my foot hurts. Just trying to get through it."

On Wednesday, Vogt started his first game of the year at designated hitter. A's manager Bob Melvin said Vogt has had the bone bruise before and aggravated it "a little while" ago.

"I think whenever I can DH him or something along those lines, hopefully it can get that much better," said Melvin. "Those things don't go away very quickly, and we certainly don't want to DL him, and he doesn't want to go on the disabled list."

Vogt has been trying various insoles and orthotics to ease the pain, and while Melvin hopes he can eventually return to catching, for now he would only end up behind the plate in an emergency situation.

The left-handed hitter has not caught since July 7.