As Miguel Rojas found himself caught in between phases of his life — traded from the Marlins back to the Dodgers — the first text message he received wasn’t from one of his old teammates.
Just one player, Clayton Kershaw, remains from 2014, the last time Rojas appeared in a Dodgers uniform. Of the four players traded to Los Angeles as part of that original deal, only Austin Barnes remains in the organization.
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Instead, Rojas heard from someone 10 years his junior, a player who this spring finds himself in a position similar to the one Rojas was in a decade ago: He’s fighting for an opportunity.
Miguel Vargas may very well be the Dodgers’ second baseman once this spring is done, following a winter in which he was penciled in as the club’s third baseman. As Vargas — one of the top hitting prospects in the sport — sought his first big-league call-up last summer, the organization threw him out into left field, where he showed some flashes but remained unpolished. By the time he got up to the big leagues, most of his action was in mop-up duty at first base.
There was a lot of bouncing around.
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So when the move for Rojas was complete, Vargas reached out. Vargas wanted to work on his defense, and he was out in Miami for a few weeks before flying back to Los Angeles to continue his work at Dodger Stadium. Rojas was an ideal teacher for Vargas, as the veteran had fashioned himself into an everyday shortstop during his eight seasons in Miami.
Could Rojas help him while they were both in town?
“For me,” Rojas said this month, “that tells a lot about who he wants to be.”
Rojas, who has spent much of the offseason rehabbing from a pair of wrist procedures, took Vargas out to the field with him and outlined his routine. Then he took him through it. Rojas put him through an array of drills designed for shortstops — if you can play short, you can play anywhere, Rojas said.
Rojas said Vargas is “still trying to figure out who he is as a defender” after years of praise heaped on his preternatural abilities at the plate. A year ago, Vargas joked after a spring training home run that his favorite defensive position was the one that was going to get him four trips to the batter’s box. But upon his arrival in the big leagues, that focus has continued to tighten. He became one of the regulars following Freddie Freeman’s fastidious routine of picking short hops with third-base coach Dino Ebel. As Vargas took grounders throughout the season, he’d at times shadow Mookie Betts when the second baseman-turned-Gold Glover in right field would get his work in.
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Given the opportunity this winter, Vargas jumped at the chance to work with Rojas.
“He was just always available for me,” he said in Spanish this month. “Getting the chance to be with him in Miami, working on some things, and hopefully we’ll keep doing that here (in Los Angeles).”
Vargas’ offseason bouncing between Los Angeles and Miami allowed him ample time to tap into the resources around him. Working at Dodger Stadium allowed him to sharpen his skills with potential double-play partner Gavin Lux while remaining under the watchful eye of some of the organization’s coaches. In Miami, he worked on his infield defense with two-time All-Star infielder and current Dodgers special assistant Plácido Polanco.
And with some help from mutual friends and now a shared hitting coach, Vargas also connected with five-time All-Star and newly-signed Dodger J.D. Martinez.
“They were just telling me about this kid Vargy and ‘how much he looks up to you,’” Martinez recalled last week.
When Dodgers hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc, whom Martinez credits for his career revival in 2014, came to visit Martinez in Ft. Lauderdale, he brought Vargas with him.
“We just hit it off,” Martinez said. “He’s just a very humble kid, a great kid. … (He’s) got a lot of talent. I’m excited about him. I’ve talked to the Dodgers about him personally and I think he can be something special. He’s got great tools and great ability.”
Vargas called Martinez “my big brother” after just a couple of months working together in the batting cage this winter. It’s part of a quickly growing relationship with the slugger who has been credited with helping several teammates, including Betts, at the plate. Betts has called Martinez a “genuine friend” dating to their days in Boston and was among those who helped recruit Martinez to Los Angeles.
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“I’m at a point in my career where I just want to win,” Martinez said.
Vargas thriving in an everyday role would increase the Dodgers’ chances of doing that. The club lost a wave of big-league talent in free agency this winter, with the organization placing faith in its acclaimed farm system to keep them in title contention.
Manager Dave Roberts reiterated again this month that there will be “a lot of” Vargas in the lineup from the start of the season. In terms of his fit at second base, the Dodgers are optimistic about Vargas’ athleticism and how that will play, even with the ban on defensive shifts. There’s also a sense that Max Muncy regained his comfort level at third base through everyday work there rather than bouncing around the diamond.
“It makes more sense” for the Dodgers to line up this way, Roberts said.
It’s also opened the door for Vargas, whose work this offseason has helped ensure he’s ready.
“A lot of things can change before the season starts,” Vargas said. “But I’m ready for it. … There’s still a lot of work to do.”
(Photo of Miguel Vargas: Darren Yamashita / USA Today)