Does Miguel Vargas Have Plot Armor on the 2025 White Sox?

The 2024 Trade Deadline was a single sand in the hourglass of disappointment that was the White Sox season. If we were picking the gold medalist of that event’s disappointment, in the fans eyes, it would have to be the Erick Fedde trade. My thoughts on the subject (READ THEM HERE) were probably more measured than the elbow bending crowd at Turtle’s. I even had the artist formerly known as Recovering Prof join me on the Au Jus to breakdown the trade in a way that would be a little more generous to the parties involved.

But alas, the natives were still unsettled. The initial scrutiny from the peanut gallery was on the post-hype prospect pictured at the top of the page known as Miguel Vargas. Vargas had come over after initially flopping his first few auditions with the Dodgers. And this after being the recipient of many bouquets of prospect flowers through his youth. Finally though, Vargas would get unfettered playing time and have a chance to prove to the world (and White Sox fans) that his prospect status was deserved. And more importantly to White Sox brass that Chris Getz did not get fleeced in the trade.

*FART NOISE*

Vargas ambled to the finish line as gracelessly as MySoxSummer performing the third live ad read of an old 108 podcast. The slash line over 42 games read .104 / .217 / .170 with only 2 Home Runs and 7 RBI, that was good for -1.0 bWAR (a pace of roughly -4.0 bWAR over a full season). YUCK! The White Sox left Vargas with instructions to put back on the weight he lost in Chicago over 2 months of depression (possibly clinical) inducing play and get ready for 2025.

Does Miguel Vargas Have Plot Armor?

If you have read this far in the blog, you are prolly thinking, what in the fuck is plot armor? Oxford’s Dictionary doing the heavy lifting for unc Beef below.

The reason I even ask whether Miguel Vargas has plot armor, whether he’s a “made man” in the White Sox family is because of YOU! That’s right, the reader of this blog, the White Sox fan, the incessant addict of southside baseball that is sick of futility and wants his ass gone yesterday!! And you have stats to back you up. Not only baseball card stats, but a Baseball Savant page that will cause dry heaves. I even had a prominent member of WST (or maybe Bluesky now, you never know) who will remain nameless, tell me “BEEF!!! Miguel Vargas won’t make this team, he’ll be cut in March!”.

Todd Welter from Locked On Sox joined me on the Au Jus the other night and offered an alternative plan for Vargas’ removal from the 2025 White Sox Saga.

The Projection Sluts Believe Miguel Vargas is FINE!

We did a segment in a recent 108 Podcast in how the White Sox offense should improve over 2024. The above chart was a harbinger of good fortune. Most of the mainstream and publicly available projection models believe that Vargas’ 2024 stint with the White Sox was an aberration. As a group, they think Miguel Vargas is a run of the mill league average hitter.

That level of hitting would place very nicely on a rebuilding / coming out of cellar White Sox team. That’s someone worthy of lots of the valuable 6,000 or so plate appearances that this team has to give out in 2025. In fact out of qualified Third Basemen in 2024, that would’ve placed him 15th, right between Nolan Arenado and Ryan McMahon in hitting prowess. That seems much better than the street corners and taverns are telling me this will turn out. But that’s not the only thing…

The Fairytale That Is Chris Getz Turning The White Sox Around Desperately Needs It

That’s right, the story of Chris Getz’ regime rebuilding the White Sox as a team that wins on the margins, that follows the path of the Brewers and Guardians in getting edges where they can, they need a win here. They can’t lose trades like Orlando Bloom and live like they claim to be doing. They need a post-hype prospect like Vargas to work out. They tried Mike Soroka and they tried Dominic Fletcher and they tried Corey Julks and they couldn’t get any of those to work.

Miguel Vargas needs to be the sign of proof, the “OH YEA” moment, that they got a guy for this regime to not only build their reputation, but to build their confidence on doing it again and again. The life blood of the middle market winner in modern MLB. A league average Miguel Vargas hitting enough to look competent and help the White Sox win is what this first thrust of the Getz regime needs more than anything else. PLOT. ARMOR.

-BeefLoaf