Washington Nationals Avoid Arbitration with Key Infielder Before Season Even Ends

The 32-year-old has become a valuable member of the Nats and was even mentioned as a player that other teams were interested in at the trade deadline, so there's clearly a solid skillset for Vargas.

He's appeared in major league games in each of the last seven years, but has bounced around to multiple different organizations. He's played with the Diamondbacks, Twins, Cubs, Pirates and the Diamondbacks and Cubs again before landing in Washington in 2022.

This year, he's appeared in 83 games, hitting .248 in 254 at-bats.

An article from MLBTradeRumors mentioned additional reasons why the club would want to keep Vargas in the fold:

Since arriving in the U.S. capitol, Vargas sports a .261/.304/.375 slash line that’s been good for a wRC+ of 90 while boasting a strikeout rate well below 10%. His high-contract, switch-hitting bat offers additional value off the bench thanks to his positional versatility. Vargas has played all four infield positions during his major league career in addition to left field....

The Nationals lost to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night 5-1. Vargas started and went 0-for-3.

The Nats are now 69-90 on the season.