The Cubs have claimed infielder Ildemaro Vargas off waivers from the Twins, the team announced. In another move, the Cubs also announced that right-hander Jharel Cotton has been released.
Vargas was designated for assignment three days ago, as Minnesota looked to clear roster space for Josh Donaldson’s activation from the injured list. Vargas is now on the move for the second time in a month, as the Twins only just acquired him a trade from the Diamondbacks (after another DFA) in early August.
Vargas has 45 combined plate appearances with the D’Backs and Twins this season, and has hit .255/.284/.385 over 289 career PA at the big league level, all but 24 of them in an Arizona uniform. The switch-hitting Vargas has primarily worked as a second baseman in the minors and at the big league level, but he has experience at multiple other positions (mostly shortstop and third base) and thus offers some value as a utility piece.
Since Vargas is out of options, the Cubs will have to carry him on their Major League roster lest they risk designating him again and losing him to another team’s waiver claim. Vargas will join Nico Hoerner and David Bote as Chicago’s primary backup infielders, with Jason Kipnis increasingly getting the lion’s share of regular second base playing time.
Cotton was acquired from the Athletics in an offseason trade, and the righty will now look for a new team to get his career back on track. Once a top-100 ranked prospect during his time in Oakland’s farm system, Cotton hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2017 due to Tommy John surgery. His brief big league resume consists of a 4.95 ERA over 158 1/3 innings in 2016-17, though Cotton has a solid 3.85 ERA, 3.84 K/BB rate, and 10.2 K/9 over 496 career innings at the minor league level.
That’s a bold strategy with Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for him
This would be great if you quoted the movie exactly. Good effort +1
Since Vargas is out of options, the Cubs will have to carry him on their Major League roster lest they risk designating him again and losing him to another team’s waiver claim LOL. I really doubt anyone in management would lose any sleep if someone else picked him up. On the other hand his batting average is better than many of the current starters for the Cubs.