White Sox' Miguel Vargas seeing improved results at plate
Third baseman Miguel Vargas hasn’t had much success since joining the White Sox as part of the Michael Kopech trade in July. Entering Saturday, Vargas was batting .133/.236/.213 in 67 games with the Sox.
When they acquired Vargas, the Sox thought they could unlock something in the former top prospect with extended playing time. But that hasn’t happened.
‘‘The guys here help me out a lot,’’ Vargas said Thursday. ‘‘We’ve been working through where I can be more on path through the fastball, and I think they’ve been helping me a lot. It’s good to see good results.’’
In the last week, Vargas has made some tweaks to his swing to ensure he’s on time more often. After going 2-for-4 on Friday and 2-for-5 on Saturday, Vargas has a four-game hitting streak.
‘‘For Vargas to work as hard as he’s been working and to see those adjustments pay off the last two days has been great,’’ manager Will Venable said. ‘‘He’s got to continue doing that moving forward.’’
Catching rotation
Catcher Korey Lee continues to make progress in his recovery from a sprained left ankle. At the time of his injury, Lee was batting .333/.412/.467. He’s one of the best hitters on the team, but the Sox will have three healthy catchers when he is ready to play.
Teams rarely carry three catchers because there isn’t enough time behind the plate to go around. The issue for the Sox is that Matt Thaiss, Edgar Quero and Lee are among the team’s best hitters.
‘‘We haven’t had that conversation,’’ Venable told reporters Friday in Sacramento, California. “I know he’s feeling good, the swelling’s out of there and he’s got good mobility. But we haven’t had that conversation.’’
It’s important to give Quero plenty of opportunities to develop while also being conscious of not putting too much on his plate.
‘‘We can kind of just alternate them and give them the rest they need and recovery,’’ Venable said. ‘‘There’s some catching situations where you have to match up. With these guys, we can map out their workload and be mindful of that.
‘‘For Edgar, there’s no reason he can’t DH here and there, too, to get his bat in the lineup while keeping him off his feet.’’
Roster moves
The Sox acquired infielder Gage Workman from the Cubs for cash and designated utility player Nick Maton for assignment to make room for Workman on the roster.
The Cubs designated Workman, 25, for assignment Wednesday after he batted .214/.267/.286 in nine games for them. They chose him in the Rule 5 Draft in December.
The Sox also traded outfielder Travis Jankowski to the Rays for cash. Jankowski batted .214/.267/.214 in seven games.