What Role Will Ildemaro Vargas Have For Washington Nationals in 2025?
It was a season of improvement for the Washington Nationals in 2024, as they saw a 16-win increase from 2023.
Now, the Nationals are heading into 2025 with the potential to make some noise in free agency and help expedite the rebuild. With some money to spend this offseason and a clear direction for what the team needs, Washington can be an 80-win team next season.
As general manager Mike Rizzo works through what the plan is this winter, he will also be trying to make sure the depth on the team is taken care of.
In a long baseball season, depth has become more and more important, as even World Series contenders need players who can come in to perform when normal starters are injured or need a day off.
One of those solid depth players for the Nationals has been Ildemaro Vargas. The 33-year-old utility man played all over the field for Washington in 2024, as he logged time at multiple positions in the infield, some outfield, and even made a few pitching appearances.
Recently, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports spoke about what Vargas’ role in 2025 could look like.
“Defensively, Vargas has value. He plays an excellent third base, a solid second base and holds his own at shortstop. He probably shouldn’t be playing the outfield unless it’s an emergency. At the plate, he seems to do best when getting favorable matchups, especially against left-handers. But he seems to perform best when he’s not playing too much. Give him one start a week against a lefty, then bring him off the bench either for defense or to pinch-hit the rest of the time, and you’ll probably get the most out of him.”
A lot of how big of a role Vargas has in 2025 will come down to what the Nationals do in free agency. Third base is certainly a position that they need to improve at, but Vargas could be a late-game defensive replacement if they bring in someone who is lacking in that area.
While Vargas brings a lot to the table with his ability to play multiple positions, some improvements on offense would likely increase his playing time. In 95 games last season, the utility man totaled a .246 batting average, but had just one home run.
Even though the veteran will never be a star for Washington, he should keep his role as the infield utility man and potentially a late-game defensive replacement in 2025.
