Tuesday, the Minnesota Twins acquired infielder Ildemaro Vargas from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona had designated the 29-year old for assignment last week. First with the news was Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic.
The Diamondbacks have traded infielder Ildemaro Vargas to the Twins for cash considerations. He had been designated for assignment last week.
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) August 11, 2020
As Piecoro mentioned, the Arizona Diamondbacks are receiving cashback in the deal. Furthermore, Vargas has not yet been activated by the Twins. Once the organization decides to activate him, they will need to make another move to create room on their 28-man roster.
More on Ildemaro Vargas
Ildemaro Vargas is a great acquisition for the Twins. While this trade will not receive a lot of attention nationally, it is an interesting one for a Twins team that has its eyes set on winning the American League Central in 2020.
Vargas has the ability to play all four infield positions and is a switch hitter to boot. In addition, Vargas has also played all three outfield positions. As a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks big league club, Vargas played in eight games with the team. Over those eight games, he played five at first, three at second, and one at third base.
Beyond that, over 21 plate appearances, Vargas hit .150/.190/.150 with three hits, one walk, and five strikeouts. 2020 marked Vargas fourth year with the big league club. However, he was shuttled between the big league team and the minor leagues over that period of time.
Last season, Vargas appeared in 92 games with the Diamondbacks big league squad. Over that sample, he made 211 plate appearances in which he hit .269/.299/.413 with 25 runs, 54 hits, nine doubles, one triple, six home runs, 24 RBI, nine walks, and 24 strikeouts. The bulk of his playing time came at second base where he appeared in 48 games. He also saw action at the hot corner appearing in 14 games over there.
Vargas has yet to put together his success from Triple-A in the big leagues. While the Twins are taking a risk, they are getting a player that adds to the depth they already have. With Marwin Gonzalez in tow, Minnesota now has two very versatile pieces on their big league roster. That could come in quite handy down the stretch should there be an injury or something to impact the depth of the club.
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