The Los Angeles Dodgers have faced challenges at third base since Max Muncy was placed on the 10-day injured list on May 17 with a right oblique strain. Muncy has since been moved to the 60-day IL, with no clear return in sight, leaving the Dodgers in search of a replacement. While Kiké Hernández, Cavan Biggio, and Chris Taylor have filled in, none have matched Muncy’s offensive production. Could manager Dave Roberts turn to Miguel Vargas as a solution?
Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic shared Roberts’ thoughts in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Vargas has limited experience at third base in the majors, with just one inning since his debut in 2022, but has logged 2,792.2 innings there in the minors, including 175 innings in Triple-A in 2023. On July 5, he was seen practicing ground balls at third base with infield coach Dino Ebel before a game.
“I think it’s just more of giving him time to get acclimated over there at third base,” Roberts told reporters Friday in Detroit, including Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group. “We’ve really tried to get him to focus on playing left field and I just don’t think it’s fair to him to now try and perform in the batter’s box and play a position I don’t think he’s played in the big leagues … then to just throw him out there. We just want to give him time to kind of get his re-conditioning at third base down.”
Vargas has been versatile throughout his professional career, spending most of last season at second base and moving to left field during spring training. If he can build confidence at third base and perform well offensively, Vargas might secure a more permanent spot on the major league roster.