It usually sets off a few alarm bells when an everyday player is absent from a lineup for a spell, but Miguel Rojas, who was absent from two of Oklahoma City’s games Wednesday and Thursday, had a very good reason. Vargas, Cuban-born, signed with the Dodgers as an international free agent in 2017, when he was only 18. He and his father defected from Cuba when Vargas was 15, after he played in the 15-and-under World Cup in Japan, and they settled in Miami.
OKC’s communications director took to Twitter to explain Vargas’ absence; he was taking his US citizenship test, which he “passed with flying red, white, and blue colors.” Vargas’ OKC teammate Hunter Feduccia also celebrated the occasion by posting a photo of Vargas when he returned to the clubhouse, wearing a cowboy hat with a little American flag planted in it.
Miguel Vargas missed a few games with Dodgers’ Triple-A team, but he had a great reason
Vargas is still waiting for his call back up to the majors after being pushed back to the minors to start the season after the Dodgers re-signed Kiké Hernández to take what probably would’ve been Vargas’ spot. When Jason Heyward went down with injury and Taylor Trammell didn’t work out, a red-hot Andy Pages got the major league call over Vargas, which seems to be working out pretty well for the Dodgers.
However, Vargas has also shown signs of life in the minors this year; he’s hitting .262/.412/.492 with three home runs and 17 RBI in 19 games. If the Dodgers lineup takes another hit with injury or Pages slumps, Vargas will almost certainly be the one to get pulled from Triple-A.
→ Swipe to see more articles
Still, Vargas’ citizenship is something to celebrate entirely on its own. Congrats to him, and hopefully he’ll get another shot at the big leagues somewhere down the line this season.
