The Chicago White Sox have had few bright spots halfway through this long season, but the ones they do have are worth noting. The White Sox have allowed their young players to come up to the big leagues to play and gain experience, which will be valuable in building a contender for the future.
Some players like Chase Meidroth, Kyle Teel, Shane Smith, and Grant Taylor look like building blocks for the future and will certainly be back next year. Others, such as Miguel Vargas, Lenyn Sosa, Brooks Baldwin, and even Luis Robert Jr., are question marks to be on the team next season, with some having better chances than others.
Of those players, Baldwin, Sosa, and Vargas have the best chances of having a spot on the roster next season. Of those three, Vargas has had the hardest time finding success, as he went from the best team in baseball last season to the worst.
Chicago White Sox third baseman receives a memorable gift from the Dodgers
The White Sox are on a six-game road trip that has taken them out west, with them opening things up against the Los Angeles Dodgers. This series with the Dodgers marked Vargas’s first trip back to Dodger Stadium since he was traded last season and since they won the World Series.
As a member of the Dodgers in the first half of last season, Vargas was entitled to a World Series ring, which was presented to him before last night’s ballgame. Vargas commented on his return to Dodger Stadium and what it was like to receive the World Series ring and seeing his old friends, saying to MLB.com’s Scott Merkin that it “felt good” and he was “happy to have one.”
Vargas via Merkin of MLB.com:
“It feels good, you know? I feel a lot of players dream about something like this. I’m very happy to have one,” said Vargas after receiving his championship ring. “It’s always good to have that type of reward. Happy to see my old teammates and to be back here at Dodger Stadium.”
Vargas (25) tweaked his swing over the offseason, which has helped raise his average by 76 points, going from .150 last season to .226 this season. Vargas is also seeing career highs in his on-base percentage (.308) and slugging percentage (.405), which has led to him being close to an average player (from an OPS+ standpoint) for the first time in his career.
Vargas’s hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed, as his manager, Will Venable, saying to Merkin, that Vargas is becoming the player that he and the organization had envisioned he’d be, and that he has taken notice of how hard a worker Vargas is.
Venable on Vargas:
“Just the way he’s worked through that early part of the season where, the organization and myself and Vargy, have a vision about the kind of player that he can be,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “He’s had to work really hard to get there.
To see that in the early part of this year where he’s worked through some adjustments, made those adjustments and stuck with them and gotten results is really cool to see. He’s a really good player and we’re watching him become that on a daily basis here.”
Vargas could be a part of the White Sox’s future
Vargas has a good chance to be a part of the White Sox’s future since he’s improved so much. If Vargas can’t become an everyday player with all the chances he’s being given, he could end up being a nice bench bat, given his versatility and having some pop in his bat.
Vargas’s versatility could also come in handy if the White Sox decided to move on from him over the offseason. For now, Vargas will have many more opportunities this season to further prove why he’ll be worth keeping around.
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