Vargas was released by the Tigers on Wednesday, Andersen Pickard of MLBDailyDish.com reports.
Vargas signed a minor-league deal with the Tigers in January, but he was released by the team Wednesday after being left off the 60-man roster. The 29-year-old was a non-roster invitee during spring training, but he went 0-for-7 with four strikeouts. Whether Vargas will be able to land with another team remains to be seen.
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Kennys Vargas: Heads overseas
Rotowire
Vargas agreed to a contract Tuesday with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League, Seth Stohs of TwinsDaily.com reports.
After being outrighted off the Twins' 40-man roster coming out of spring training, Vargas spent the entire 2018 campaign at Triple-A Rochester, delivering a .240/.326/.425 slash line across 644 plate appearances. With that production unlikely to earn Vargas much more than a minor-league deal this winter, the 28-year-old elected to take his talents overseas for the 2019 season. Contact issues have limited the impact of Vargas' considerable pop in the majors and high minors, but he could emerge as a top slugger in Japan while teeing off against lower-caliber pitching.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Clears waivers, outrighted to Triple-A
Rotowire
Vargas was outrighted to Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
After bouncing back and forth between the Reds and Twins, Vargas will indeed open the season back at Rochester after passing through waivers untouched. He will serve as organizational depth. While the 27-year-old possesses some serious pop, he's failed to get things going in brief major-league stints over the previous four seasons, hitting a combined .252/.311/.437 with 35 homers in 236 games.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Claimed off waivers by Twins
Rotowire
Vargas was claimed off waivers by the Twins on Saturday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
Vargas's merry-go-round continues with the first baseman heading back to the Twins. The first baseman was designated for assignment by the team last weekend and then scooped up by the Reds on Thursday. It seems unlikely that he will be able to find much playing time with Joe Mauer and Logan Morrison ahead of him on the depth chart, but expect Vargas to secure a reserve role off the bench as a pinch hitter for the club's Opening Day roster.
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Reds' Kennys Vargas: Heads to Cincinnati
Rotowire
Vargas was claimed off waivers by the Reds on Thursday.
Vargas' power potential is undeniable, but his struggles in the majors ultimately forced the Twins to cast him off the 40-man roster earlier in the month. He'll now head to Cincinnati, where he'll likely be relegated to being a bench bat given the presence of star first baseman Joey Votto.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Launches two-run bomb in loss
Rotowire
Vargas went 2-for-2 with a double, a two-run home run and two walks during Sunday's loss to Kansas City.
Vargas has been playing sparingly, and while Sunday's blast could earn him a few more at-bats moving forward, he's not in the lineup enough to move the needle in most fantasy settings. His .249/.311/.438 slash line shouldn't instill much confidence, either.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Out of Saturday's lineup
Rotowire
Vargas is out of Saturday's lineup against the Royals, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
He has been the primary DH since getting recalled, hitting .235/.333/.353 with one home run and 10 strikeouts in 34 at-bats over that span. Mitch Garver gets the start at DH, hitting sixth, against lefty Onelki Garcia.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Draws third straight start
Rotowire
Vargas will serve as the Twins' designated hitter and bat seventh Tuesday against the White Sox.
Injuries to Robbie Grossman (thumb) and Miguel Sano (shin) have left Vargas the top option on the depth chart at DH. Vargas will draw his third consecutive start Tuesday after going 3-for-9 with two RBI over the past two contests.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Goes yard Tuesday
Rotowire
Vargas went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the White Sox.
As has been his habit this season, Vargas flashed his power quickly after his latest promotion from Triple-A Rochester. While his nine homers and 31 RBI in 54 big-league games are solid, his .245 batting average and .736 OPS point to why he hasn't been able to hang onto a regular spot in the Twins' lineup. With Miguel Sano (shin) out for another week or so, however, expect Vargas to see plenty of at-bats through the rest of August as the team looks to replace their young slugger's thump.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Recalled from Triple-A
Rotowire
Vargas was recalled from Triple-A Rochester on Monday, Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverage.com reports.
Vargas will assume the active roster spot of Miguel Sano (shin), who landed on the 10-day disabled list Sunday. The 27-year-old Vargas has reached base at just a .289 clip over 190 plate appearances with the big club this season, but he's often provided an impact when he's been able to make contact, as evidenced by the eight home runs and nine doubles on his ledger. Vargas is expected to pick up semi-regular at-bats at designated hitter or first base while Sano remains sidelined.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Sent back to minors
Rotowire
Vargas was optioned to Triple-A Rochester following Wednesday's game against the Brewers, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Vargas was only with the big club for one game before being sent back to Rochester to clear room for Thursday's starter, Dietrich Enns. The 27-year-old owns a .244/.291/.432 slash line with eight homers in 176 at-bats for the Twins this season. He'll likely be back in the majors again sometime before the season ends.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Brought up by Twins
Rotowire
Vargas was recalled by the Twins on Wednesday, Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverage.com reports.
He takes the roster spot of Adalberto Mejia, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left arm strain Tuesday. Vargas has had hot stretches in the big leagues this season, but wasn't able to carve out an everyday role en route to hitting .244/.291/.432 before being sent down to Triple-A Rochester. The slugger hasn't fared much better in the minors, batting .221 with eight home runs over 42 games, but could provide a power threat at the designated hitter spot, as the Twins rank 23rd in home runs this year.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
Vargas was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Monday, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
The Twins will send Vargas to the minor leagues in order to open up a 25-man roster spot for Tuesday's scheduled starter, Bartolo Colon. Vargas currently holds a .244 average with eight home runs and 30 RBI in 176 at-bats this season. He'll likely rejoin the big-league club in the not-so-distant future.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Back in lineup at first base
Rotowire
Vargas (foot) will start at first base and bat fifth Sunday against the Astros, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Vargas was sidelined for only one game with the foot contusion, which he sustained during Friday's series opener. Though he'll draw a starting nod Sunday, Vargas will likely find himself on the bench more often than not following Joe Mauer's (back) reinstatement from the 10-day disabled list Saturday.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Not in Saturday's lineup
Rotowire
Vargas (foot) is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against Houston, LaVelle E. Neal of the Star Tribune reports.
Vargas was forced to leave Friday's contest with a foot contusion, but was able to avoid any structural damage as the X-rays came back negative. With Joe Mauer (back) returning from the DL prior to Saturday's game, Vargas will take the day off and rest his foot. Although the disabled list remains a possibility, it seems as though Vargas will remain day-to-day, stating that he was "ready to go" after testing his foot before the game.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Leaves with foot injury
Rotowire
Vargas was removed from Friday's game early with a foot contusion, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
As it's just a bruise, it would be surprising if this injury kept Vargas on the shelf for long. Consider him day-to-day for now.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Recalled, starting Friday
Rotowire
Vargas was recalled from Triple-A Rochester and is starting Friday against the Orioles.
Just days after he was sent packing, Vargas has returned, replacing Joe Mauer (back) on the active roster. He will man first base and bat fifth Friday against right-hander Kevin Gausman, but it's uncertain how much time Vargas will see in the immediate future. Miguel Sano has made a couple starts at first base recently, which has allowed the team to fit both Eduardo Escobar and Jorge Polanco into the lineup.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Optioned to Rochester
Rotowire
Vargas was optioned to Triple-A Rochester after Monday's game, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
Vargas needed just 161 plate appearances to hit seven home runs, but he wasn't providing anything besides the power. Thanks in large part to a 7:45 BB:K, Vargas owned a brutal .230 average and .267 OBP. With Ehire Adrianza ready to come off the disabled list, Varags and his limited skill set became expendable.
Vargas went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in Tuesday night's victory over the White Sox.
Prior to Tuesday's contest, Vargas was batting just .219 over the team's past 14 games, and although he did strike out twice, his power continued to show through. He now has seven home runs on the season, and although he may not hit for a very high average, his power could help him continue to log semi-regular at-bats as the designated hitter for the upstart Twins squad.
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Twins' Kennys Vargas: Picks up sixth start in eight games
Rotowire
Vargas will start at first base and bat fifth Sunday against the Indians, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
With Robbie Grossman hitting the bench for a second straight game, Vargas will enter the lineup for the sixth time in eight contests. Grossman had seemingly emerged as manager Paul Molitor's preferred option at designated hitter earlier this month, but Vargas' uptick in at-bats of late suggests that may no longer be the case. Grossman hasn't helped his cause by going 0-for-12 over his last three starts, but Vargas has started to slump a bit too after bashing out four of the Twins' franchise-record 28 hits in Tuesday's blowout win over the Mariners. Since that contest, Vargas has gone 1-for-12 with five strikeouts.
