Vargas becomes South Side slugger with his first homer for White Sox

MINNEAPOLIS -- It was surely not the start to his White Sox career that Miguel Vargas had envisioned. Coming off an 0-for-8 homestand in which he struck out three times and committed an error in left field, Vargas led off Friday’s 10-2 loss to the Twins by fanning against Minnesota starting pitcher Joe Ryan.

With Chicago trailing 2-0 in the third, however, Vargas barreled up a four-seam fastball from Ryan at the bottom of the zone and lofted it high into the Minneapolis sky, depositing it just over the left-field wall to tie the game. The quick, smooth swing gave a glimpse of why the Sox were so excited to acquire Vargas from the Dodgers in a Trade Deadline deal.

“It feels great,” Vargas said. “To be able to tie the game with my first hit as a White Sox player was a good thing for me.”

According to Vargas, he's always looking to punish misplaced fastballs.

“It just ran a little bit more than I was intending,” Ryan said of the 3-2 pitch. “It was supposed to be down [and] he put a good swing on it.”

The 24-year-old Cuban played left field as he split time between the Dodgers and Triple-A Oklahoma City this season before being acquired by Chicago on Monday in a three-team deal with the Cardinals and Dodgers.

After starting at DH and left field since making his White Sox debut on Tuesday, Vargas led off and played third base in the series opener against the Twins. It’s a position he played earlier in his career in the Minors. The Sox have a hole on the left side of the infield and they hope that with the benefit of work with third base/infield coach and fellow Cuban Eddie Rodriguez, Vargas can get comfortable enough to man the hot corner on a daily basis.

“I was excited about him playing third base today,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “He likes third base. He had a really good pregame, he moved around well, threw the ball well, he had really good actions over there. We’re hoping that continues to work out because he looked good out there.”

While it will be an adjustment going from a Dodgers team that expects to contend for a World Series to a struggling South Side squad, Vargas is hoping to seize the opportunity to be an everyday big-league ballplayer.

“To be able to go out there and play every day is a big thing for me,” Vargas said. “I wasn't able to do that two months ago. Having that [opportunity] now is a new mentality for me.”

His home run was the first White Sox hit of the game and the only highlight in the defeat. The loss extended the Sox franchise-record losing streak to 18 games. They are 0-14 since the All-Star break.

“It’s good to see him get that first one out of the way, so he can take a deep breath and settle in,” Grifol said. “This kid is going to be a good player here for a long time.”