Dodgers' highlight video shows Miguel Vargas is serious about second base

A few weeks back, the Dodgers let one of their surprising 2023 positional adjustments slip, deciding that it was high time to tell the world they'd be playing Miguel Vargas at second base primarily this season.

Vargas, long thought to be the heir apparent to Justin Turner at third, was given a free shot at the position this offseason. Instead, the Dodgers intend to move Max Muncy over to the open Hot Corner as opposed to tossing him into the teeth of the shift ban, asking Vargas, the better athlete, to handle that newfound open space.

In case you wondered how serious they were, the Dodgers tweeted a highlight reel from this weekend's workouts at Dodger Stadium. According to the team's version of events, three things happened at that workout.

JD Martinez mashed bombs. Vargas ripped liners up the middle. And Vargas also flashed a slick glove at second, working on the pivot and backhand.

There's a reason those are the three takeaways they wanted you to have after watching this video.

Dodgers make Miguel Vargas' transition to second base very obvious with highlight reel

Vargas has split time between third, left and first base during his time in the bigs, consisting entirely of a second-half cameo in 2022. Perhaps we should've seen this coming last year when Vargas got only one inning at third base during his entire cup of coffee (no errors, no chances Sept. 30 in Colorado).

At the minor-league level, Vargas has occupied second for parts of 28 games, with 23 games in left and 205 games at third. Notably, none of those 28 games came with the shift ban in place.

Vargas, to his and the team's credit, is hard at work learning a mostly-new position. As Ron Washington once warned Scott Hatteberg, it isn't easy.

That's why, mixed in the with Martinez swings and Vargas cuts, the Dodgers fed their followers a heaping helping of Vargas-with-the-glove content. Hopefully, LA's staff has built enough trust with the region by now that most fans know, as strange as it sounds, it'll probably work.

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