Ildemaro Vargas, Chris Devenski Elect Free Agency
Utilityman Ildemaro Vargas and right-hander Chris Devenski have elected to become free agents, as reported by the official transaction pages for Triple-A West (for Vargas) and MLB.com (for Devenski). The two 30-year-olds both finished the 2021 season with the Diamondbacks.
Vargas was outrighted off Arizona’s roster earlier this week, and since he’d been previously outrighted earlier this week, Vargas had the option of either accepting the assignment to Triple-A or choosing to become a free agent. He’ll now hit the open market and could be on the move again after a whirlwind 14 months that saw Vargas play for three different teams (the Twins, Cubs, and Pirates) in between two stints with the D’Backs.
Vargas received 211 plate appearances while playing in 92 games with Arizona in 2019, hitting .269/.299/.413. He hasn’t matched even that modest production since, posting only a .477 OPS over 137 total PA in 2020-21.
Devenski signed a minor league contract with the D’Backs last winter and made it to their big league roster, but delivered only an 8.59 ERA over 7 1/3 relief innings. A tough season got worse due to Tommy John surgery around early June, and Devenski will now be sidelined until at least (in a best-case scenario) the 2022 All-Star break.
It is the second elbow injury in as many seasons for Devenski, who was limited to 3 2/3 innings in 2020 due to an arthroscopic procedure. The former Astros reliever has been in decline since his 2017 All-Star season, and now faces a very uncertain winter. Depending on when he recovers and is able to showcase himself for scouts, Devenski might conceivably have to wait until the 2022-23 offseason before landing his next contract.
Diamondbacks Outright Three Players
The offseason roster shuffle has begun in the desert. The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve outrighted reliever Brandyn Sittinger, outfielder Henry Ramos and infielder Ildemaro Vargas to Triple-A Reno. The moves leave the club with 37 players on their 40-man roster.
Sending those three down comes as no surprise, given the players’ performances so far. Sittinger joined the D-backs on a minor league deal prior to the 2020 season, and saw his first big league action last month. He tossed 4 2/3 innings over five appearances, posting an unsightly 13.03 FIP.
Arizona signed the 29-year-old Ramos to a minor league deal on May 19 of this year. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, and was called up September 5. In 18 games he accumulated 55 plate appearances but only posted a meager 48 wRC+.
The well-traveled Vargas appeared in the big leagues each of the last five seasons, mostly with the Diamondbacks. He also played briefly for the Twins and Cubs last year. In 381 total plate appearances at the MLB level, he’s put up -1.2 fWAR.
Diamondbacks Designate Jake Faria, Select Ildemaro Vargas
The Diamondbacks announced that right-hander Jake Faria has been designated for assignment. Faria will be replaced on the active roster by utilityman Ildemaro Vargas, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Reno.
The move essentially bookends Faria’s tenure in Arizona, as Vargas was DFA’ed to create roster space when Faria was signed back in June. Faria was inconsistent over 32 2/3 innings with the D’Backs, posting a 5.51 ERA and only a 20.8% strikeout rate.
Now in his fourth MLB season, Faria tried to shuffle the deck by using his curveball more often, though it didn’t lead to any great difference in results. After some promising numbers in his 2017 rookie season with the Rays, Faria has since posted a 5.65 ERA over 116 1/3 innings with Tampa, Milwaukee, and Arizona, and he also spent some time with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate earlier this year.
Vargas has already appeared for three different teams during the 2021 season, amassing 55 total plate appearances over 25 games with the Cubs, Pirates, and D’Backs. The veteran utilityman has spent much of his MLB career with Arizona, though he bounced around the league via three different waiver claims in the last year before returning to the Diamondbacks in June.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/22/21
The latest minor moves from around baseball:
- The Diamondbacks announced that utilityman Ildemaro Vargas has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Reno. The 29-year-old has bounced around the league a bit in recent seasons, suiting up for Arizona, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and the Cubs. Through 55 MLB plate appearances in 2021, Vargas has hit just .137/.200/.176. As a player who has previously been outrighted in his career, Vargas has the right to elect free agency.
- Marlins infielder Deven Marrero has apparently cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment, as he was in tonight’s lineup with Triple-A Jacksonville. Miami designated Marrero for assignment over the weekend. The former Red Sox utilityman only appeared in one MLB game with the Marlins before being removed from the 40-man roster, going hitless in three plate appearances.
- The Phillies have signed utilityman Jake Elmore to a minor league contract, notes Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. He has been assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 34-year-old has appeared in parts of six MLB seasons, most recently with the 2019 Pirates. Elmore has a .215/.292/.275 mark in 527 major league plate appearances.
- The Athletics recently released right-hander Tanner Anderson, Hilburn-Trenkle relays. Also a former Pirate, Anderson pitched in the big leagues between 2018-19. The 28-year-old has worked to a 6.15 ERA/4.88 SIERA over 33 2/3 MLB frames. He’d managed a 3.60 ERA in 15 innings with Triple-A Las Vegas this year, but Anderson only struck out three batters in that time while walking twelve.
Diamondbacks Sign Jake Faria, Designate Ildemaro Vargas
The Diamondbacks announced the signing of right-hander Jake Faria. Utilityman Ildemaro Vargas has been designated for assignment to open up a roster spot for Faria.
Faria had been pitching for the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate before he was released earlier this week. He’ll now join a reeling D’Backs team that is looking for all the pitching help it can find, though Faria has only a 5.65 ERA over 36 2/3 innings with Triple-A Salt Lake City. The righty does have a 28.05% strikeout rate, but Faria has been hurt by the long ball, with seven homers allowed over those 36 2/3 frames.
Home runs and walks became an increasingly big problem for Faria over 170 1/3 MLB innings with the Rays and Brewers from 2017-19, as he posted a 1.3 HR/9 and 10.4% walk rate to go along with a 4.54 ERA and 20.9% strikeout rate. A pretty well-regarded arm during his way up the ladder in Tampa Bay’s farm system, the Brewers acquired Faria for Jesus Aguilar in July 2019 but Faria didn’t pitch well during the rest of that season with Milwaukee and he didn’t see any action in 2020.
Vargas has become a regular on the DFA wire, as this marks the fourth time in less than three months that the 29-year-old has been designated. Vargas began his season with the Cubs, who DFA’ed him twice and then lost him on a waiver claim to the Pirates, and Pittsburgh then traded Vargas to Arizona at the beginning of June. Vargas spent his first three-plus MLB seasons with the Diamondbacks before they designated him for assignment last August and the Twins claimed him away.
In the midst of this flurry of moves, Vargas has only hit .167/.211/.245 over 109 PA since the start of the 2020 season. Known more for his versatility than his bat anyways, Vargas has played mostly second base and third base at the big league level but he has also seen some action at four other positions.
Pirates Trade Ildemaro Vargas To Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks announced Wednesday that they’ve acquired infielder Ildemaro Vargas from the Pirates in exchange for cash. Infielder Domingo Leyba was designated for assignment to clear a spot for Vargas, who is returning to the club that originally gave him his first Major League opportunity.
Now 29 years old, the switch-hitting Vargas made his MLB debut with the Snakes back in 2017. He was an up-and-down utility piece for them up through the 2020 season, when Arizona designated him for assignment and flipped him to the Twins for cash. That kicked off a series of team changes for Vargas, who has since ridden the DFA carousel from Minnesota to Chicago (Cubs) to Pittsburgh before today’s return to Arizona.
Vargas batted .257/.287/.387 in 265 plate appearances with the D-backs from 2017-20 but has struggled in limited action since that time. He’s tallied 70 plate appearances between the Twins, Cubs and Pirates but managed only a .167/.214/.292 output. Now back with the Diamondbacks, he’ll likely serve as a bench option and provide some depth at second base, third base and perhaps in the outfield corners.
The 25-year-old Leyba came to the Diamondbacks in 2014’s three-team swap that sent Robbie Ray to Arizona, Shane Greene to Detroit and Didi Gregorius to the Yankees. The addition of Ray obviously proved to be of great benefit for the Diamondbacks, but Leyba hasn’t panned out as they hoped. He’s just 7-for-47 with a 29.6 percent strikeout rate in 54 MLB plate appearances — including an 0-for-22 showing so far in 2021.
To his credit, Leyba has hit well in parts of two Triple-A seasons, slashing a combined .311/.361/.547 in 535 plate appearances. He’s also out of minor league options, generally light on power and is not regarded as a top-tier defender anywhere in the infield. He has experience at shortstop, second base and third base. A club with room on its big league bench could take a shot on Leyba, but neither FanGraphs nor Baseball America ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects heading into the 2021 season.
Pirates Select Chase De Jong, Designate Ildemaro Vargas
The Pirates announced they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Chase De Jong to start this afternoon’s game against the Rockies. In a corresponding move, infielder Ildemaro Vargas was designated for assignment. Righty JT Brubaker, meanwhile, will be away from the team temporarily on bereavement leave.
When he takes the mound this afternoon, De Jong will be appearing in the big leagues for the fifth consecutive season. Pitching for the Mariners, Twins and Astros during parts of the 2017-20 seasons, De Jong worked to a 7.12 ERA with poor strikeout and walk numbers (14.2% and 10.6%, respectively) in 15 appearances.
Despite his uninspiring major league resume, De Jong has pitched well since signing a minor league deal with Pittsburgh in January. Over four starts for Triple-A Indianapolis, the 27-year-old has worked to a 3.60 ERA across 20 innings, striking out a very strong 33.7% of opponents while walking an average 9.6%. It’s a small sample to be sure, but De Jong is punching out hitters much more often in 2021 than he has in any other Triple-A campaign, so the front office will give him an opportunity to try to carry over that success to the big leagues.
Vargas loses his roster spot less than two weeks after the Pirates claimed him off waivers from the Cubs. He’s picked up 37 plate appearances between Chicago and Pittsburgh this year and has hit just .239/.272/.368 in parts of five MLB seasons. The Pirates will have a week to trade Vargas or expose him to waivers. Having previously been outrighted in his career, the 29-year-old would have the right to reject a minor league assignment in lieu of free agency if he clears outright waivers.
Pirates Claim Ildemaro Vargas, Designate Troy Stokes Jr.
The Pirates have claimed infielder Ildemaro Vargas off waivers from the Cubs. Outfielder Troy Stokes Jr. has been designated for assignment to create room for Vargas on Pittsburgh’s active roster.
Chicago DFA’ed Vargas on Saturday, after the 29-year-old hit .143/.250/.238 over 24 plate appearances this season. Vargas came to the Cubs via a waiver claim off the Diamondbacks roster last September, and this is the second time he has been designated for assignment by the team — Vargas cleared waivers in April and was outrighted to the Cubs’ alternate training site.
This time, however, Vargas found a home with a new team, joining a Pirates squad in search of depth. With Ke’Bryan Hayes, Colin Moran, and Phillip Evans all on the injured list, Vargas can add some versatility to the bench. Vargas has mostly played second base over his five MLB seasons, but he has experience all over the infield, and has also made a couple of appearances as a corner outfielder. This multi-positional flexibility has been Vargas’ calling card rather than his bat, since he has hit only .246/.280/.380 in 322 career PA with the D’Backs, Twins, and Cubs.
Stokes also joined the Pirates through the waiver wire, as the Bucs claimed the outfielder off the Tigers’ roster back in January. Like Vargas, Stokes already has one DFA under his belt in 2021, as the Pirates designated and outrighted Stokes not long after acquiring him from Detroit. Originally a fourth-round pick for the Brewers back in 2014, Stokes made his Major League debut this season, hitting .111/.200/.167 in 20 PA over eight games with Pittsburgh.
Cubs Activate Ian Happ, Designate Ildemaro Vargas
The Cubs have activated outfielder Ian Happ from the 10-day injured list and designated infielder Ildemaro Vargas for assignment, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.
Happ is returning after spending the minimum amount of time on the IL with a rib contusion. Before that, Happ got off to an uncharacteristically slow start with the bat, evidenced by a .167/.307/.250 line with two home runs in 109 plate appearances. Happ’s strikeout, groundball and fly ball rates have all trended in the wrong direction, which helps explain his poor production, though he has dealt with some bad fortune. The 26-year-old’s .245 batting average on balls in play is easily a career low, and he’s well above average in such Statcast categories as hard-hit percentage and average exit velocity.
This is the second time since the end of March that the Cubs have designated Vargas, who has appeared in nine of their games and taken 24 trips to the plate this season. The 29-year-old has batted .143/.250/.238 with no home runs.
Cubs Announce Series Of Roster Moves
The Cubs announced a series of roster moves Tuesday, placing righty Jake Arrieta, infielder Nico Hoerner and reliever Dan Winkler on the 10-day injured list. Arrieta is dealing with a right thumb abrasion, while Hoerner has a left forearm strain and Winkler is being slowed by tendinitis in his right triceps. In their absence, the Cubs have recalled lefty Kyle Ryan and right-hander Keegan Thompson. They’ve also selected the contract of infielder Ildemaro Vargas, filling their 40-man roster.
Arrieta, 35, has had a decent rebound effort with the Cubs thus far, making six starts and logging a 4.31 ERA through 31 1/3 frames out of the rotation. He signed a one-year, $6.5MM deal to return to the team with which he won a Cy Young Award in 2015 and a World Series ring in 2016. He’d been slated to take the mound tomorrow, but it appears the cut on his pitching thumb hasn’t healed to the point where he’s able to properly throw all of his offerings. Given the nature of the injury, it seems likely to be a short-term stay on the IL.
The 23-year-old is out to a brilliant start in 2021, slashing .389/.500/.556 with six doubles, three steals and eight walks against seven strikeouts through 44 trips to the plate. Hoerner collided with center fielder Ian Happ when chasing down a shallow fly-ball during Sunday’s game against the Reds, though it’s not clear if that play is the source of his current injury. Happ remains day-to-day after that incident, with manager David Ross telling reporters he’s been diagnosed with a rib contusion after getting kicked “pretty hard” by Hoerner in the process. Hoerner tells reporters he expects to be back from the IL when he’s first eligible (Twitter link via Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago).
Winkler, meanwhile, has held opponents to just one run on five hits in 10 1/3 innings. It’s a strong start in terms of bottom-line results, but the fact that he’s walked seven batters, plunked another and snapped off a wild pitch suggest that he’ll need to improve his control if he’s to maintain anything close to that output. To his credit, Winkler has also punched out a dozen of the 44 hitters he’s faced, but this marks a second straight year of questionable command in the Cubs’ bullpen for the 31-year-old Illinois native.
Ryan leads Cubs relievers in innings pitched over the past few seasons and will give Ross another lefty to work with for the time being. Thompson, who made his MLB debut when he tossed an inning earlier this year, is slated to start the second game of today’s twin bill against the Dodgers. He’s a 26-year-old back-of-the-rotation/swingman candidate who ranks 14th among Cubs farmhands at MLB.com, 23rd at FanGraphs and 28th at Baseball America. The Cubs’ rotation doesn’t have room for him when it’s at full strength, but he’ll likely be called upon for multiple spot starts in situations just as this throughout the year, when injuries pop up among the team’s top few starters.
Vargas has appeared in eight games with the Cubs dating back to a 2020 waiver claim from the Twins. He’s spent the bulk of his career with the D-backs, primarily in a utility role, and is a lifetime .252/.280/.388 hitter in 300 trips to the plate as a big leaguer. He’ll factor into the mix at second base and off the bench while Hoerner is sidelined.