Jason Vargas
On July 21, 2015, during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Vargas was forced to leave the game after throwing only 26 pitches, with an apparent injury to his throwing arm. The next day, Vargas was diagnosed with a torn UCL in his left elbow, forcing him to undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the 2015 season and much of the 2016 season. For 2015, he was 5-2 with a 3.98 ERA in nine starts. Although his season ended prematurely before the Royals' World Series run in 2015, he did receive a World Series ring.
On September 17, 2016, he made his first start following his recovery from surgery, against the Chicago White Sox. In 2016 he pitched only 12 innings, all of which were scoreless.
The 2017 season was Vargas's fourth year with the Kansas City Royals, and his first full season since undergoing Tommy John surgery. Vargas started strong, going 12–3 in the first half, and was named to the American League All Star team for the 2017 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It was the first-ever All Star selection of his career. In the second half Vargas struggled, posting a 2–8 record, including a four-game losing streak. He rebounded, however, winning four straight decisions in the month of September, and in the process establishing a career-high for wins. Vargas finished the season with an 18–11 record and an ERA of 4.16 in 179.2 innings, with his 18 wins tied for the American League lead, and his 32 starts 9th in the league. He led major league pitchers in percent of balls pulled against him (48.8%). He also led all major league pitchers in changeup percentage (32.7%). On defense his 23 assists as a pitcher were 5th in the league, as his 1.60 range factor/9IP was 4th in the league and he fielded 1.000.
On February 18, 2018, Vargas signed with the Mets for two years and $16 million, plus an $8 million option for a third year. On March 16, Vargas suffered a non-displaced fracture of the hamate bone in his right hand. He missed the first month of the season due to the broken right hand. On June 25, he was once again placed on the disabled list, with a calf injury. On August 29, he struck out his 1,000th batter becoming one of 16 active left-handers to reach that milestone. In 2018, he posted a 7-9 record with a 5.77 ERA in 20 starts.
On June 23, 2019, Vargas threatened a Newsday reporter with bodily harm (i.e., being punched out) in the Mets locker room after a game against the Cubs. The following day Vargas was fined $10,000 by the Mets for his actions. At the time that he was traded in 2019, he was 6-5 with a 4.01 ERA for the Mets, in 19 games, 18 of which were starts.
On July 29, 2019, the Mets traded Vargas and $2.9 million to the Philadelphia Phillies for Double-A minor league catcher Austin Bossart.
On July 21, 2015, during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Vargas was forced to leave the game after throwing only 26 pitches, with an apparent injury to his throwing arm. The next day, Vargas was diagnosed with a torn UCL in his left elbow, forcing him to undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the 2015 season and much of the 2016 season. For 2015, he was 5-2 with a 3.98 ERA in nine starts. Although his season ended prematurely before the Royals' World Series run in 2015, he did receive a World Series ring.
On September 17, 2016, he made his first start following his recovery from surgery, against the Chicago White Sox. In 2016 he pitched only 12 innings, all of which were scoreless.
The 2017 season was Vargas's fourth year with the Kansas City Royals, and his first full season since undergoing Tommy John surgery. Vargas started strong, going 12–3 in the first half, and was named to the American League All Star team for the 2017 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It was the first-ever All Star selection of his career. In the second half Vargas struggled, posting a 2–8 record, including a four-game losing streak. He rebounded, however, winning four straight decisions in the month of September, and in the process establishing a career-high for wins. Vargas finished the season with an 18–11 record and an ERA of 4.16 in 179.2 innings, with his 18 wins tied for the American League lead, and his 32 starts 9th in the league. He led major league pitchers in percent of balls pulled against him (48.8%). He also led all major league pitchers in changeup percentage (32.7%). On defense his 23 assists as a pitcher were 5th in the league, as his 1.60 range factor/9IP was 4th in the league and he fielded 1.000.
On February 18, 2018, Vargas signed with the Mets for two years and $16 million, plus an $8 million option for a third year. On March 16, Vargas suffered a non-displaced fracture of the hamate bone in his right hand. He missed the first month of the season due to the broken right hand. On June 25, he was once again placed on the disabled list, with a calf injury. On August 29, he struck out his 1,000th batter becoming one of 16 active left-handers to reach that milestone. In 2018, he posted a 7-9 record with a 5.77 ERA in 20 starts.
On June 23, 2019, Vargas threatened a Newsday reporter with bodily harm (i.e., being punched out) in the Mets locker room after a game against the Cubs. The following day Vargas was fined $10,000 by the Mets for his actions. At the time that he was traded in 2019, he was 6-5 with a 4.01 ERA for the Mets, in 19 games, 18 of which were starts.
On July 29, 2019, the Mets traded Vargas and $2.9 million to the Philadelphia Phillies for Double-A minor league catcher Austin Bossart.
