Former Dodgers top prospect reunites with teammates after disheartening trade to White Sox

Miguel Vargas was the only major league player the Dodgers had to give up at the trade deadline last season, in the three-way trade with the Cardinals and White Sox that brought Tommy Edman and Michael Kopech to LA. Vargas easily got the rawest end of the deal, heading to a White Sox team that was barreling toward the wrong kind of history, while Edman and Kopech got to go on and help the Dodgers to a World Series championship.

Vargas seems to be trying to make the best out of his situation. He had a terrible first few months but went on to bat .263 with a .899 OPS in May. Although his numbers have dipped a lot since then, at least he's consistent; he's just one of two qualified White Sox hitters and has only missed three games.

The White Sox are in LA this week for a three-game series, and Vargas is taking advantage of it by reuniting with some of his old teammates. He posted a picture of himself and Andy Pages, who came up through the minors at the exact same time as him, at dinner in LA on Instagram.

Miguel Vargas reunites with Andy Pages ahead of Dodgers-White Sox series in Chicago

Pages has sort of become what the Dodgers had hoped Vargas would become. Vargas came up a lot earlier than Pages — 2022 versus 2024 — and continually ranked higher than him in the Dodgers' pipeline before he graduated to the majors. But Vargas never got the same leeway in the majors as Pages, nor did he perform to expectations. That made trading him at the 2024 deadline an easy call for the Dodgers to make, especially if it helped them get Edman. Meanwhile, Pages could be on the cusp of his first All-Star appearance.

But, much like Michael Busch before him and Gavin Lux after, the Dodgers traded away talent that never panned out in LA and couldn't fit on the roster to teams that would actually give them playing time. Vargas might be stuck on a pretty hopeless team, but at least he's quite literally its best player.

It might not be a standing ovation, but Vargas should expect a warm reception at Dodger Stadium. At the very least, fans should be thankful that he was part of what got Edman to LA.