Last month, infielder Ildemaro Vargas was the talk of D-backs Summer Camp for the way he was hitting the ball.

Tuesday, he was dealt to the Twins for cash considerations after being designated for assignment last week, when the teams cut active rosters from 30 to 28 players.

Vargas hit so well during Summer Camp that manager Torey Lovullo talked about how to get the switch-hitter into the starting lineup, especially against left-handers. Vargas made four starts, but he did not get off to a good start, hitting .150 in 21 plate appearances.

Also working against Vargas was the promotion of Andy Young, who like Vargas, can play all four infield positions. Young can also play the corner-outfield spots, and he hit well when first called up.

The 29-year-old Vargas was out of Minor League options, so he could not be sent to the D-backs’ alternate training site.

“He’s such a great kid,” D-backs general manager Mike Hazen said of Vargas. “[He did] some good things in spurts for us, especially against left-handed pitching. Ultimately it came down to where we were going to be able to give those at-bats. That’s one of the challenges to having somebody who is out of options and hasn’t carved out that exact everyday -- or whatever role you want to call it, it makes it somewhat restrictive to make moves.”

Getting reps
D-backs shortstop Nick Ahmed felt a little out of sorts both defensively and offensively in the first two weeks of the season.

From the defensive side of things, the two-time defending NL Gold Glove Award winner didn’t get a lot of action during the Summer Camp intrasquad games. When he did get one, it caused some pain.

“I dove for a ball at the end of Summer Camp and kind of jammed my [right] shoulder up a little bit,” Ahmed said. “I was working through some inflammation there. It’s gotten cleaned up pretty good the last week or so, and it’s starting to feel better.”

That shoulder issue could explain why he felt like his mechanics at the plate were off early in the season and why it has gotten better over the past week.

In the first 11 games of the season, Ahmed went 3-for-34 with no extra-base hits.

Over his past six games heading into Tuesday night, he slashed .333/.391/.619 with a pair of homers.

“It wasn’t painful in the moment,” Ahmed said. “Looking back on the mechanics, I think it might have altered the mechanics of [my swing] just from some tightness I was experiencing. I can’t say for sure.”