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Dodgers Option Miguel Vargas To Triple-A

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The Dodgers announced that infielder Miguel Vargas has been optioned to Triple-A.  Southpaw Bryan Hudson was also optioned, while righty Yency Almonte was reinstated from the paternity list.  This leaves Los Angeles with an open spot on its active roster, though Chris Taylor is expected to be activated from the 15-day injured list after the All-Star break.

There isn’t much surprise to Vargas’ demotion, as manager Dave Roberts hinted yesterday that a move back to Triple-A might be in the cards for the rookie.  A consensus top-50 prospect in baseball, Vargas was one of several youngsters the Dodgers were counting on to fill roster holes, as the team went into 2023 with a mix of proven star veterans and promising minor leaguers.  Stepping in as the regular second baseman, Vargas got off to a solid start that wasn’t entirely reflected by his bottom-line numbers, as he was getting plenty of walks and making lots of hard contact without much batted-ball luck to show for it.

However, Vargas’ production has cratered over the last month.  Over his last 78 plate appearances, Vargas has hit only .079/.221/.175, with just five hits total.  The slump simply became too deep for the Dodgers to ignore, and the 23-year-old will now get at least a brief stint with Triple-A Oklahoma City to try and get himself back on track.

It seems likely that Vargas will be back in the majors at some point this season, though that could depend on how the Dodgers approach the trade deadline.  Shortstop and second base are both big target areas, as while Mookie Betts has continued to post MVP-caliber numbers while filling in at both middle infield spots, L.A. probably prefers to see Betts back in his customary right field spot.  The versatile Taylor can factor into either middle infield position, but he is struggling through his second consecutive year of underwhelming offensive production.

Dodgers Designate Andre Jackson For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced they’ve designated right-hander Andre Jackson for assignment. His 40-man roster spot will go to righty Ryan Brasier, whose promotion was reported earlier. Left-hander Bryan Hudson was optioned to open a spot for Brasier on the active roster.

Jackson has spent his entire career in the L.A. organization. Originally selected in the 12th round of the 2017 draft, he made it onto the 40-man roster after the 2020 campaign. Jackson debuted the following summer and has bounced on and off the active roster for the past three seasons.

He’s worked in multi-inning relief at the big league level, tossing 39 frames over 14 outings. A personal-high 17 2/3 of those innings have come this season. Jackson has allowed 13 runs in that limited look, thanks largely to five homers. The longball has largely overshadowed a quality 16:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

A starter for the bulk of his minor league tenure, Jackson has also worked in long relief in Triple-A this season. He’s logged 27 2/3 innings across 11 outings, pitching to a 5.86 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He has a quality 25.8% strikeout rate at the top minor league level, but he’s walked over 14% of batters faced there. Strike-throwing has been the question throughout his career, as Jackson has handed out free passes at a 12.7% clip over five minor league seasons.

The 6’3″ righty clearly has intriguing raw stuff, though. He’s punched out over a quarter of opponents in the minors. His fastball sat north of 95 MPH on average during his MLB time this season, while prospect evaluators have long praised his changeup. He seems likely to draw some interest via minor trade or on the waiver wire within the next week. Jackson is in his final minor league option season, so an acquiring team could keep him in Triple-A for the remainder of the year.

Dodgers Select Bryan Hudson

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Ahead of tonight’s game against the Giants, the Dodgers have selected the contract of left-hander Bryan Hudson. In a corresponding move, right-hander Tayler Scott was designated for assignment, per a team announcement.

Hudson, 26, was a third round pick by the Cubs in the 2015 draft. Used as a starter early in his professional career, Hudson struggled badly, posting a 4.51 ERA in 325 1/3 innings of work spread across the Low-A, Single-A, and High-A levels from 2016-19. After not pitching in 2020 due to the cancelled minor league season, Hudson returned in 2021 having converted to the bullpen, and saw his results improve. The lefty posted a 3.13 ERA in 54 2/3 innings of work at the Double-A level in 2021 with a 23.3% strikeout rate and a phenomenal 65% groundball rate, though his 10% walk rate left something to be desired. In 2022, Hudson posted similar numbers, with a 3.66 ERA in 59 innings split between the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

After the 2022 campaign, Hudson departed the Cubs organization through minor league free agency before signing a minor league deal with the Dodgers in December. Since signing on in LA, Hudson has pitched to a sterling 2.17 ERA in 29 innings at Triple-A. While his groundball rate has plummeted to just 27.8%, Hudson is striking out batters at an absurd 41.1% clip, leaving plenty of reason for optimism that the southpaw could help bolster a Dodgers bullpen that sports an NL-worst 4.90 ERA.

Making room for Hudson is Scott, who allowed six runs on six hits, a hit batsman, six walks, and eight strikeouts over six appearances during his time in Dodger blue. Prior to Scott’s call-up, the righty had posted impressive marks of his own at Triple-A, including a 1.37 ERA in 19 2/3 innings of work. The Dodgers now figure to attempt to trade Scott or pass him through waivers. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, LA can assign him outright to the minors, though Scott has been outrighted previously in his career, meaning he could reject that assignment and elect free agency if he so chose.

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