Vargas got his joy back in Chicago, and All-Star nod to boot

CHICAGO -- There’s a memorable screenshot focused upon Miguel Vargas from a television broadcast in August 2024 perfectly summing up that dismal, forgettable season for both the White Sox and their third baseman.

Vargas was sitting at the edge of the White Sox dugout in Oakland, looking dejected following the team’s 21st straight loss, the moment coming a few days after he was part of a three-team, eight-player deal sending him from the Dodgers to Chicago. Those same Dodgers went on to win their first of two straight World Series championships.

Fast forward to July 4, 2026, with the location now being the White Sox clubhouse at Progressive Field. Make that the first-place White Sox, and teammate Mike Vasil announcing Vargas as a first-time All-Star.

Happiness in baseball has returned to Vargas, with a great deal of help provided by his friends and teammates.

“It’s hard for a lot of people to understand, the same way for me to understand other people’s point of view,” Vargas said. “Definitely that’s something that I have to carry with myself.

“When I found this group of guys, they push me every single day to be better, and that’s all I want and ask for is to be in a group of guys that want to compete every day and win games. I’m glad to be part of it.”

Despite the White Sox being one of Major League Baseball’s top first-half stories as a team, Vargas is the sole All-Star representation as of July 10, but he's a perfect representative. He is one of seven players of Cuban lineage on the rosters for the Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia, which is another source of immense pride for Vargas.

The Cuban connection has strong ties for his family, who will be in Philadelphia. His dad, Lazaro, was a top player in Cuba and won two Olympic Gold medals but never had the chance to play in the Majors.

“That’s my role model and my hero,” said Vargas of his dad. “That’s the reason I play this game, and for me to have his last name on my back and his number, it means a lot to me. I’m representing something he couldn’t have the opportunity to do. For me and my family, it means a lot.

“I’m very proud to be Cuban. I know what it takes for us to get this opportunity. All they have done, not just for me but the future of the Cuban baseball player, I’m proud to share the same clubhouse with them and spend time with them, too.”

The list of All-Stars with Cuban heritage this year features Yordan Alvarez, Aroldis Chapman, Randy Arozarena, Yandy Díaz, Raisel Iglesias, Andy Pages and Vargas. Pages and Varges are close friends and envisioned this sort of vast success when they were roommates during their younger Dodgers days.

“He's obviously like a brother for me,” Pages told reporters of Vargas. “I'm very happy that he could make it too, and I know that he worked very hard. I know that he and his family are really happy he made it.”

“Where we came from and what we have going to get where we are right now, it’s a conversation we had at night when we played Minor Leagues,” Vargas said. “We wanted to be big leaguers; we wanted to be an All-Star. I can’t wait to see him there.”

Vargas hit .104 with a .387 OPS over 42 games and 157 plate appearances in ’24 upon joining the White Sox. The trade followed less-than-stellar showings over limited stints with the Dodgers from 2022-24. That’s the past.

With 20 homers, 17 doubles, 11 stolen bases, 56 RBIs, 61 runs scored, an .831 OPS and strong defense at third, Vargas is a present top force on the field. At 26, he’s really just beginning for the White Sox.

“He’ll play the game hard, the right way,” White Sox hitting coach Derek Shomon said of Vargas. “Everybody loves him for that.

“He’s a real three-skill hitter, where he makes unbelievable swing decisions, doesn’t miss in the strike zone and he can obviously do damage. When you have all three of those skills, that puts you in a pretty elite group in Major League Baseball.”

An elite skill level and continued happier images of Vargas in Philadelphia this week.

“I don’t think that could have got in my mind a couple of years ago in the spot that I was,” Vargas said. “Really tough moments for me.

“To see where I am right now is very special for me. I thought I would never have joy for the game anymore, but these guys proved me wrong and gave me that joy back. I love to be part of this group.”