GLENDALE, Ariz. — There’s a noticeable difference in White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas this spring.
From the way he saunters through the clubhouse and converses with teammates to his belief in his ability, Vargas is more upbeat after working through a difficult time following his trade from the Dodgers to the Sox at the deadline in 2024.
Vargas batted .104/.217/.170 in 42 games for the Sox in 2024, and his woeful stats carried over into 2025. He was batting .139 on April 19 last season.
But after a mechanical change that saw him move his hands higher on the bat, he improved. From April 19 through the end of last season, Vargas batted .248/.329/.432. His 32 doubles led the Sox and were fifth in the majors.
Vargas’ outgoing personality is more pronounced now that he has had some decent results. His uptick in performance has helped him grow into a clubhouse leader.
And he’s not content with his offensive strides. In his second full season with the Sox, Vargas said he wants to become a complete third baseman.
‘‘I’m in a better spot mentally and physically,’’ Vargas told the Sun-Times. ‘‘I want to be an every-day third baseman. That’s one of my biggest challenges. That’s one thing that I’ve been working on.’’
Offensively, he wants to shorten his droughts and has been receptive to advice from the coaching staff.
‘‘He’ll be a smartass when he needs to be — in the best of ways — but you can definitely be hard on him,’’ Sox first-year hitting coach Derek Shomon told the Sun-Times. ‘‘He receives it exceptionally well. He wants the pushback; he wants you to challenge him.’’
Vargas said that Shomon has a good feel for hitters and that he has enjoyed working with him and assistant Joel McKeithan. Going into the offseason, however, it was his defense that needed more work.
Vargas began working on his defense as soon as last season ended. He and coach Justin Jirschele frequently talked, texted and exchanged videos during the offseason. Jirschele has said Vargas wants to be a G
