In the cold, snowy, early months of 2017, Ehire Adrianza changed teams twice. Expected by his original team, the San Francisco Giants, in January he was picked up by the Milwaukee Brewers, and again placed on exemption. The twins claimed him in February, and he has since made a home with the team. There are many reasons to make a comparison between the once unwanted Adrianza, and new Twin, Diamondbacks cast-off Ildemaro Vargas.
Defensively, both players are midfielders in the first place, but can play nicely anywhere but catch on if asked. Vargas even made an appearance on the mound in the minors. Adrianza came with a glove-first reputation, as did Vargas.
Before joining the Twins, Adrianza came in with .220 / .292 / .313 in 331 record appearances with the Giants. With the Diamondbacks, Vargas had .257 / .287 / .387 in 265 record appearances. Both were primarily singles hitters, as can be seen from their declining percentages.
Both players had appearances in parts of four MLB seasons with their NL West club, and both were available to the Twins for basically nothing. In the case of Adrianza, he was a claim for exemption, as discussed above. For Vargas, he was DFA last week, and the twins bought him out of cash considerations, the baseball equivalent of “just take him off our roster.”
There is also the superficial comparison of both men who are Venezuelans. Both played their way the long way through the minors, starting in the foreign rookie leagues as 16-year-olds, and making their debut close to a decade later. However, the comparison goes deeper, to the role they will play for the team.
The 2017 had an entrenched utility infiltrator capable of multiple positions, in Eduardo Escobar. The 2020 squad has Adrianza. In either case, the addition of another solid utility man was a forward move, as Escobar was traded to Arizona by the 2018 deadline, as a heavyweight free agent. In this case, Adrianza will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2020 season, making a bit of a gap that Vargas seems likely to fill.
Speaking of Eduardo Escobar, he also comes from the same tribe. He was acquired by the Chicago White Sox in the trade of Francisco Liriano. At the time, he was considered the ‘throw-in’ piece, and Pedro Hernandez was considered the greater asset – though history now shows otherwise. He did not have the same MLB experience as Adrianza and Vargas in 2012 when the Twins acquired him, but fit a similar profile. He was, in his age-23 season, another cheap team-controlled player. He had been with parts of two MLB seasons at the Sox, hitting .213 / .282 / .277, the definition of a light-hearted midfielder. For part of his time with the Twins, Escobar was considered a starter, but that was okay because they had another similar handyman.
Eduardo Nunez, another part of the team’s important “all the Eds” strategy, was traded from the Yankees to the Twins in April 2014 for minor pitcher Miguel Sulbaran. At the time, Nunez was in his age-27 season, and you know it, had played in parts of four MLB seasons with the Yanks. With New York, he hit .267 / .313 / .379, making him a relative slugger in that group. He was still considered a glove-first infielder, and as usual he could also play competent defense throughout the infield, and in a pinch, even an outside field corner. You can also leave this strain back – to whom other than LNP?
Nick Punto is still a fan favorite around these parts, but who am I to tell you? The meme-tastic gritty nutsman also fits this mold. He spent three seasons with the Phillies before the Twins acquired him as part of the Eric Milton deal. With the Phillies, he hit .223 / .273 / .272. Punto was, as with the rest of this list, good enough to be an occasional starter, but was generally a super helpful man, played very well and did what Gardy asked of him. We might even be able to go back even further, but I think I have proved my point.
Does all this mean that Ildemaro Vargas will develop some strength and become a reliable part of an MLB roster before he is traded if he becomes expensive? Not necessarily, but this is definitely the type of move, and the player profile that the Twins have seen play this way many times in the past.
