The Los Angeles Dodgers have been plagued by issues at third base since Max Muncy went on the 10-day injured list on May 17 because of a right oblique strain.
Muncy has since been moved to the 60-day IL, and he doesn’t appear close to returning.
Without him, the Dodgers have relied on Kiké Hernández, Cavan Biggio and Chris Taylor to fill in at the hot corner. But combination or single player from that trio has managed to provide much offensively.
With the struggles from all three, along with subpar defense from Hernández and Biggio, the Dodgers may turn to Miguel Vargas.
On Friday, Vargas was taking ground balls at third base before the game, and he received instruction from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and third base coach Dino Ebel.
“I think this Muncy thing has been a lot slower than we had all hoped,” Roberts said. “So Vargy hasn’t played third base in quite some time, but given where Max is at, it just made more sense to kind of push him along and see how it looks to give us another option.
“He’s starting out there tonight in left field, and he’ll start in left field on Sunday as well. But third base, as we look out, it might happen.”
Vargas has only played one MLB inning at third base since his debut in 2022, but he has logged 2,792.2 innings at the position over his Minor League career. Vargas playing 175 innings at third base in Triple-A in 2023.
Vargas did not look particularly natural while taking the ground balls, and the coaching he received from Roberts and Ebel was about the core fundamentals of the position, rather than anything to help improve on a strong foundation.
Still, the Dodgers are desperate for some offense from the position, and they may be able to live with inconsistent defense in exchange.
The bottom of the Dodgers lineup all-around has struggled this season, but Vargas has been one of the few to look good at the plate in minimal plate appearances.
In addition, Jason Heyward landing on the IL also opens up a runway for Vargas to get some additional playing time.
“It does, yeah,” Roberts said. “I think I’ve been pretty stuck on Jason playing versus right-handed pitching. I think that Vargy is a neutral guy, and he’s taking good at-bats versus right-handers.
“So I do want to give him opportunity versus some righties, but obviously James is here, and I want to give him another opportunity versus right-handed pitching as well.
“So to your question, it does give Vargy some more opportunity, yeah.”
This year, Vargas is hitting .308/.364/.487 with a 141 wRC+ in 44 plate appearances. The former top prospect has always had a highly-regarded bat, but his lack of defensive ability has limited his potential role.
How does James Outman impact Miguel Vargas?
While James Outman’s left-handed bat would be a natural fill-in to replace Heyward in the starting lineup against righties, it won’t be that simple.
Vargas and Outman will both see time against right-handers, while Andy Pages and Teoscar Hernandez will continue to play every day. Vargas will also continue to start against left-handed pitching.
“He’s certainly going to play versus right, but there’s going to be some right-handers as I look out that I want to give Vargas some opportunity as well in left field,” Roberts said of Outman’s role.
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