Diamondbacks 2023 Player Review: Carlos Vargas

The flame-throwing reliever had a rough debut with the D-backs before being moved this off-season

This article is part of a series of player reviews for the 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a surprising and marvelous year for the team as they won 84 games to make the postseason. They advanced all the way to Game Five of the World Series before bowing out to the Texas Rangers. There are 54 players in all that had at least one at-bat or pitched at least one inning for the team this past season. They are being presented in reverse order of their aWAR (average WAR-Wins Above Replacement) produced, which is the average of Baseball Reference and Fangraphs WAR. These are their season stories.

Carlos Vargas stats in 2023 which turns out to be his lone numbers in the MLB in his career / Jake Oliver

Carlos Vargas came to the D-backs after being acquired in the 2022-23 off-season from the Cleveland Guardians in a prospect for prospect trade. The Guardians acquired Ross Carver. Vargas immediately became a top-30 prospect for the Diamondbacks due to his live arm, potential, and elite velocity as a potential late-inning arm out of the bullpen.

Vargas did enough in Spring Training to make the Opening Day roster. However, he didn't last long with the D-backs before being sent down to Triple-A. Vargas only got into five games before being sent down after his April 11th appearance against the Brewers. During his less than two weeks in the MLB, Vargas struggled mightily with the long ball and walks. Of his five hits given up, he allowed two home runs. Of the 22 batters faced, he walked four of them to just seven strikeouts.

It just wasn't enough to motivate the Diamondbacks to keep him up at the big league level. After optioning him to Reno, his season came completely apart. Over 42.1 innings, Vargas walked 32 while striking out just 36. That's despite his upper 90s velocity. While Reno is a hitter-friendly environment, he still had a high 7.02 ERA and gave up 57 hits. 

Perhaps, it is no surprise then that the Diamondbacks were willing to trade him in the recent Eugenio Suarez trade with the Seattle Mariners.

2024 Status and Outlook:

Carlos Vargas is now a member of the Seattle Mariners. He's set up to be one of their top-30 prospects as he is just 24 years old. Vargas still possess the late-inning potential if the Mariners can help him locate his fastball and sinker. He won't reach free agency until after the 2029 season as he comes with all six years of control. He can easily become another Jhoan Duran who slipped through the fingers of the D-backs in the Eduardo Escobar deal. Just as likely, he could be the latest high velocity pitcher that is unable to locate his pitches at the MLB level.

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Why the Diamondbacks traded for Carlos Vargas