The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim entered the offseason with multiple holes to fill.
They presumably made their final move Monday, acquiring former Long Beach State pitcher Jason Vargas from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for 1B/DH Kendrys Morales.
Vargas joins Angels’ ace Jered Weaver as the second Dirtbag to play in front of the hometown faithful in Anaheim. He seals the void in the Halos rotation left by the departures of Zack Greinke, Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana. The Angels also added Tommy Hanson and Joe Blanton to fill out their five-man pitching unit.
You would be hard-pressed to find one Long Beach State alumnus, past or present, who made the Major Leagues and acquitted themselves as well as either of the two that the Angels will be sending to the mound every fifth day.
Now behind Weaver, Vargas finds himself in a very familiar spot going back to his college days. The seven-year veteran used to follow Weaver’s Friday night starts in 2004, the year Weaver produced an impeccable 15-1 mark with 213 strikeouts to win the Golden Spikes Award, which is awarded to amateur baseball’s top player each year. Vargas finished his only year at LBSU with a 7-6 record and 4.14 ERA. He also hit .354 with five home runs as the team’s designated hitter.
Vargas has had plenty of experience pitching behind great talent. For the past four years, he has pitched in the shadow of perennial Cy Young contender Felix Hernandez. Hernandez receives all the glory, and rightfully so. ‘King Felix’ won the Cy Young Award in 2010, and he tossed a perfect game this past season. As impressive as those feats are, the south paw led the offensively-challenged Mariners in wins with 14 while posting a 3.85 ERA in 2012.
The month of December certainly has Angels fans feeling the holiday spirit. General manager Jerry Dipoto has filled their stockings and placed some big surprises under the Christmas tree. No one thought that the Angels had the money to sign former Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton to a 5-year, $125 million deal. It was the second active offseason for the Angels, who signed Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson to long-term contracts at the Winter Meetings last year.
Vargas has to view the trade as somewhat of a Christmas miracle. He has never gone to the postseason. The Angels are neck-and-neck with the Toronto Blue Jays as the odds-on-favorites to represent the American League in the World Series this year. He has rarely worked with the run support that the likes of Pujols, Hamilton, Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo can provide.
In a small sample size of seven starts, Vargas is 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA in his career at Angel Stadium. The LBSU alum believes his success in his new home will continue.
“I’ve loved pitching there,” Vargas said of Angel Stadium. “It’s familiar scenery for me, having played in the same division and gone there as a kid. It’s a comfortable place for me.”
We’re hardly touting Vargas as the savior to owner Arte Moreno’s quest for a World Series ring, but there’s no doubt his spirits have risen, and so has his stock. He has left the cellar-dwelling Seattle Mariners, where everything stinks from the team to the fish, to embark on a homecoming filled with promise and high expectations. Fantasy owners will want to take note that Vargas could be in for a big season.