NEW YORK — Miguel Vargas faced a 1-2 count in a first-inning at-bat against Chicago Cubs right-hander Cade Horton on May 16 at Wrigley Field.
Vargas fouled off a pitch and then took two pitches out of the zone to work a full count.
On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, he got a sweeper over the middle of the plate and connected for a two-run home run.
Vargas jumped on a 1-1 fastball his next time up, hitting a solo home run.
The Chicago White Sox infielder went 4-for-4 in the contest, one of his more memorable hitting performances of the season.
“I had a lot of fun with that one,” Vargas told the Tribune on Sunday.
With the season nearing an end, Vargas reflected on some of his growth from 2024 to 2025.
“I learned so much from 2024 and I wanted to carry that into 2025,” Vargas said, referring to his struggles at the plate when he hit .104 in 42 games after being traded from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Sox in July 2024. “I think that helped me so much (going) into this year to get ready mentally and physically to play 162 games. It’s the top level of baseball and the best baseball in the world, so you have to get ready and carry that through 162 games.”
Vargas came into Tuesday’s series opener against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium slashing .230/.311/.398 with 15 home runs and 57 RBIs in 132 games. His team-leading 32 doubles ranked 10th in the American League entering Tuesday.
“He’s had some real stretches of helping our offense,” Sox general manager Chris Getz said last week. “I think there’s another step forward that he can make and he’s got the makeup to attack it in the right way to help his own game, to help our team.”
Getz also noted Vargas’ “solid” defense at third and first base.
“Defense means a lot for me,” Vargas said. “I feel I still can be better at defense. It helps the pitcher and helps our team win baseball games.”
Manager Will Venable said Vargas has been “very impactful.” That was the case during the weekend series against the San Diego Padres at Rate Field. Vargas homered on Friday, had an RBI double as part of a two-hit game Saturday and collected another RBI Sunday.
“Very good player, better athlete than I gave him credit for coming in,” Venable said before Tuesday’s game. “Just to watch him go through this year and establish himself within the group as a leader, a vocal leader, someone who goes out there and leads by example, was also cool.
“There’s opportunity to take those chances and take a role in leadership here and he’s definitely someone who has. He’s a good player, a good guy, really glad (Vargas is) here.”
Vargas fed off his teammates.
“My teammates have been so good, so great,” Vargas said. “All the young guys, we’re all hungry. We all want to show what we can do on the field and it’s a great thing to see young guys come here and show what they can do.”
Vargas made a push to return to action after suffering a sprained left hand on Aug. 28 during the home series against the Yankees. After a short stint on the injured list, he made his way back. He’s glad to close out the year with the group.
“The injury I had was a little tough for me because there was one month left in the season and I really wanted to come back and finish strong and I wanted to be there with my teammates,” Vargas said. “We set goals in the second half and we’ve been doing really good. I wanted to be there with them and help them, too.”
Sox place LF Andrew Benintendi on the 10-day IL
Andrew Benintendi’s season is over after the Sox placed the left fielder on the 10-day injured list with left Achilles tendinitis.
“It’s been kind of going on since we were out in (Los Angeles) playing the Dodgers (in early July),” Benintendi said on Tuesday. “It’s gotten to a point now where running and jogging is pretty painful. I think we all agreed this is the right move.”
He had one at-bat in the team’s last four games before going on the IL.
Benintendi slashed .240/.307/.431 in 2025, tying a career-high with 20 home runs. He also had 63 RBIs and 57 runs in 116 games.
He became the first Sox player since José Abreu (six from 2014-19) to hit 20-plus home runs in back-to-back seasons and the first left-handed Sox batter to accomplish the feat since Adam Dunn from 2012-14.
“I would say his contributions in the clubhouse, what he did on the field, he’s one of our guys, there’s no doubt about it,” Venable said.
In Tuesday’s corresponding move, the Sox selected the contract of outfielder Corey Julks from Triple-A Charlotte.
