Editors Note: This is the latest player profile in our 40-man breakdown series that we have started here at the Nats Report. Check our other player profiles.

Ildemaro Vargas

• Position: Third base/Infield utility

• Current status: First-year arbitration; on pace to reach free agency following the 2026 season

• How acquired: Free agent signing on May 27, 2022

• 2023 Grade: C

• 2024 Opening Day Projection: Bench role, viable to slot in at second or third

• 2023 stats: 86 G/286 PA, .252/.304/.363 (.666 OPS), 15 2/3BH, 4 HR, 32 R, 31 RBI, 6.6 BB%/7.0 K%, 81 wRC+, 1 SB/1 CS, 0.1 fWAR

2023 Analysis

I’ll address the elephant in the room: a “C” grade for a 31-year-old infielder with an 81 wRC+ and replacement-level production sounds a bit high at first, but you have to take into account what’s expected of Ildemaro Vargas. Still in the throes of a rebuild, the Nationals are looking for a guy who will gladly play any infield position when called upon, act as a positive veteran clubhouse presence for an increasingly young squad, and maybe get a hit off the bench or in the 7 hole once in a while. Vargas ticks all those boxes. Entering his third season with the club, Ildemaro Vargas has been praised for his infectious clubhouse presence. New teammate Joey Gallo referenced Vargas’s routine use of personal catchphrases:

On the field, it’s hard to be optimistic about his performance. Vargas doesn’t offer much in the batter’s box beyond a nearly Luis Arráez-esque ability to avoid strikeouts, but he doesn’t exactly hit the ball like Arráez does. Characterized by an obsessive habit to put the ball in play at all costs, he does so at the cost of any significant power, putting up a .363 slugging percentage with an expected SLG not much higher (.368). His sweet spot rate of 26% is among the lowest in the league, and he’s got below average speed on the basepaths. Obviously, this is not the end of the world as an expected bench bat and utility infielder. What value he does provide numbers-wise is derived from his glove, which produced 5 Statcast outs above average in 2022 and 1 last year. He exhibits excellent range moving in the direction of first base, which has manifested as a +3 OAA number at third even despite his relatively weak arm.

2024 outlook

Vargas is nothing if not consistent. He’s going to give you solid third base defense when you need it, be able to fill in at second base, short, or even left field in a pinch, and provide an OPS somewhere in the range of .650 to .675. The Nationals are not contending yet, and carrying two years of team control gives them no incentive to drop Vargas. As prospects approach the majors and enter the home clubhouse at Nationals Park for the first time, Ildemaro Vargas will be waiting there to greet them with open arms. In a baseball world that so frequently can be isolating if a veteran presence gives you the cold shoulder, it’s hard not to find value in what he provides off the field.

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1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/03/24/ildemaro-vargas-nationals-vibes/ Washington Post, by Spencer Nusbaum ↩