In a three-team trade with the Dodgers and Cardinals, White Sox general manager Chris Getz got three players in return for sending Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham to St. Louis and Michael Kopech to Los Angeles. All three — Miguel Vargas, Jeral Perez, Alexander Albertus — came from the Dodgers and were highly ranked in their farm system. But just one has major league experience so far: Vargas.
In 374 at bats across parts of three seasons with the Dodgers, Vargas has a .658 OPS, but Getz and Sox manager Pedro Grifol believe giving the versatile defender regular at-bats will help unlock Vargas’ potential at the plate.
In fact, Sox fans might look to the north side for a good comp: The Cubs got first baseman Michael Busch from the Dodgers for a pair of pitching prospects in December, and Busch is having a strong rookie season. He batted .167 in 27 games with Los Angeles last year, but Busch has 12 home runs and a .795 OPS for the Cubs this year with regular playing time.
The hope on the south side is that Vargas can follow a similar trajectory.
“Michael Busch is a good comparison there,” Getz said. “A guy who hasn’t been able to get the runway because of the talent they had. We are going to be able to provide that runway for [Vargas] to see what he can do at the Major League level.”
One of the keys to unlocking the 24-year-old Vargas’ potential, Getz thinks, is giving him a chance to play every day. With the talent on the Dodgers roster, that wasn’t always possible, but in Chicago, there will be little reason for Grifol not to write Vargas into his lineup on a daily basis. And the hope is, in the same way that that’s benefited Busch on the north side, the Sox will see Vargas start realizing the potential that made him a top-25 prospect in baseball going into the 2023 season.
“I think that’s a good comparison in terms of opportunity,” Getz said. “I know that in talking to the Dodgers they were only going to trade Miguel if they felt like it was going to help their Major League club in a way with the needs that they have. They weren’t looking to move him for a prospect deal. That’s not where they are at with things over there.”
Vargas won’t be blocked with the White Sox, and assuming Grifol does start him regularly, the main question might be where to put Vargas on defense. The Dodgers used him almost exclusively in left field this season, but he has played at second, third, and first base in the big leagues.
But at the major league level, Vargas has not been a particularly strong defender. He has -1 defensive runs saved in his career, with second base being the spot that’s given him the most trouble. The statistical sample size on Vargas’ defense is still pretty small, and perhaps like his bat, getting the chance to play somewhere in the field on a consistent basis will help him grow. Busch’s development as a defender at first base has drawn praise from his teammates this season, so Vargas could benefit similarly.
But finding the right spot might take some time once he joins the team. Grifol was noncommittal on where he sees himself using Vargas on defense.
“We’ll see when he gets here,” Grifol said. “But he’s played second, he’s played third, he’s played left. He can play both corners in the outfield. We’ll talk about that. I’ll sit down with Chris and we’ll see where we want to plug him in or if we want to move him around, just to see where he fits best. I know his bat fits.”
Vargas is the headliner of the deal, one that Sox fans might be sour on because the return for Fedde, Pham, and Kopech seems light. The other two players were both ranked in the Dodgers’ top 30 – Perez at no. 17 and Albertus at no. 23 – but they are both 19 years old and are expected to head to Single-A Kannapolis. Their impact on the big league club, if they have one at all, won’t come for some time.
Still, Getz was pleased with the way he was able to structure the three-team deal and infuse his farm system with some high-potential bats.
“Jeral Perez, he played in the Futures Game. Another guy that’s got a bright future, high ceiling,” Getz said. “He can be an impactful offensive force, plays the middle infield. He’s got zone control, and he’s got bat-to-ball (skills) and really loves to get after it. The makeup’s really strong there.
“Alexander Albertus is another guy that’s just getting his minor league career going. He got off to a great start in the ACL. Our scouts were raving about him. Analytically, he looks strong, too.”
The White Sox are on pace to have a season that will rival the historically hapless 1962 New York Mets, and with Fedde, Kopech, and Pham on their way out of town, the Sox could end up posting the lowest winning percentage in modern baseball history. Their .250 win rate is better than only the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics and the 1935 Boston Braves, and with the trade deadline still a day away, the major league roster could get gutted further.
If there is going to be something to watch for in the remaining 50ish games of the season, it might be Vargas. If Getz and Grifol are right about his potential being blocked by limited playing time with the Dodgers, then the Sox may have landed themselves their own version of Michael Busch.
“[Vargas] hasn’t gotten a clear runway at the major league level,” Getz said. “He’s one of the younger, brighter bats in our game. And the way he puts together at-bats, his zone awareness, his contact ability, his power potential. We’re a team that ranks at the bottom offensively and so our focus was to find bats through our acquisition process here at the trade deadline and we’ll continue. To be able to inject three offensive players into our organization is a wise move.
“Vargas, obviously, is further along in his career and will be in our lineup here at some point in the coming days. We look forward to getting his major league journey going getting everyday at-bats.”
