He's Baaaack! Vargas to MIL for Vinny Rottino

[craigharmann]

Crap, they just announced it on MLB network. I was hoping that this wasn't going to be the case.

[SeriesFinale]

He's a better option than some of our AAA guys and we got him for a guy who would likely be nothing more than a September bench player. Nothing to get excited about, but nothing to complain about either.

All paroxysms aside, I tend to agree here, although I think it's just pretty depressing that Claudio Vargas is the deadline pitcher we've picked up to help salve this team's largest, most-gaping wound.

[RU Rah Rah]

I wonder if Ruben Quevedo has any gas left in the tank.

[liveforoctober]

Ya know ... I'm happy this has happened. Now, instead of staring at the TV watching Mike Burns and (enter player X here) get beat up on the mound and just feeling sad... I can at least smile at the TV knowing that it is Claudio who (although arriving on horse drawn chariot to save us) is the one getting shelled.

 

Kind of like an old buddy who you know is bringing you down but you have so much history together that you can't help but keep him around. I'd much rather go down in flames with an old friend who I can laugh at rather than some strangers I don't know.

 

Thanks for coming back Claudio... here's a sword and shield. We are outnumbered and you are now on the front line.

[WisconsinSportsRule]

I wonder if Ruben Quevedo has any gas left in the tank.

 

Might as well add Jamey Wright to that list as well.

[Teatoe993]

If Vargas still works as slow as he did in his first stint in MKE, the games will last much longer. This a great move for concession sales at MP. Great move by Melvin!

[filthyfrog]

Wish we had this guy two years ago.

 

We did.

 

Four years ago, then.

[JoeHova]

This season is a total failure. Cameron, Hoffman, Counsell, etc. all better be shipped off if the team wants to salvage anything from this year. I bet they'll just hope they can limp to 85 wins though.

[mls4]

I know he isn't anything special, but he does have a 3.96 ERA and 1.15 WHIP since leaving the Brewers, even if is mostly out of relief (4 starts, 15 relief appearances for 48 total innings).

 

However it might be going too far to applaud Melvin for realizing it was a mistake to let him go in the first place. I'm fairly sure there was no room for him last spring when he was released. It is odd to give something up to get a pitcher that was voluntarily cut just 16 months ago, but then again I'm not sure how much value Rottino has at this point.

[Hammer]

Is the firedougmelvin.com website all ready to be cranked up? If this is our only move he really needs to go...

[RU Rah Rah]

If you're acknowledging that your team can't win this year, shouldn't you make moves that will help next year, and beyond?

[naivin]

If you are trading for Claudio Vargas, do you not have to do everything possible to try to make a trade to get something ion return for Cameron, Counsell, etc. You tellin' me Brian Cashman wouldn't love to talk to Doug about Mike Cameron?

[Roscoe Chill]

It's not that Rottino has any value, or that Vargas is terrible. It's that while not terrible, Vargas isn't good. So, essentially they're standing pat to get to that 82nd win as some like to put it.

 

To put this in poker terms, they could have went all in again like last year, or they could have folded their hand and saved some money for the next hand (trading short term players of value for next year). Instead, they're just calling each bet from other teams with a crappy hand.

[naivin]

His longest outing this year has been 2.0 IP, and 39 Pitches, and has pitched as much as 2 innings exactly twice. He's not here to start, he's here to take CV's spot in the bullpen.

[hawing]

This is a total joke if he is supposed to be our savior

I highly doubt this is considered to be anything more than a cheap stopgap.

[JohnBriggs12]

Vargas hasn't been starting and his relief numbers were pretty decent in LA so it's not such a bad pickup for a guy (Rottino) who's far more likely to be playing in the Northern League next year than he is for any major league affiliate. At least Vargas qualifies as a major leaguer.

 

I agree with naivin that I'd be looking around for takers on Counsell, Cameron and even Hoffman. My guess is Melvin will get waivers on all 3 and they'll be dealt in August. I had a feeling Hall accepted a demotion so he could get some time to work in CF as he'll probably be platooning with Gerut by the end of August.

[Kelbysdaddy]

i feel bad for vinny

[brewmann04]

you all knew they were not moving Gamel or Escobar and with Hart and Hardy not having good season it best to trade them in the Offseason. We better hope the young arms in the Lower Minors can work there way up fast. I am all in to See Mike Jones get a start somewhere. I guess it a good bet to bet the Over on the days Burns and Vargas pitches.

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

I just got off the phone after a profanity-laced rant with a Dodgers-fan friend of mine. It didn't help.

 

BTW, Claudio has a new middle name, and it begins with F. Seriously, say it out loud to yourself, it sounds good....

[craigharmann]

Claudio Fernando Vargas.....sounds pretty good to me!

[DougJones43]

I wonder if Ruben Quevedo has any gas left in the tank.

Might as well add Jamey Wright to that list as well.

 

...and Victor Santos.

[Oldcity]

Ha. Whatever. At least they haven't given up any prospects for rentals. I can't stand watching Vargas though.

[SeriesFinale]

I just got off the phone after a profanity-laced rant with a Dodgers-fan friend of mine. It didn't help.

 

BTW, Claudio has a new middle name, and it begins with F. Seriously, say it out loud to yourself, it sounds good....

Funny, I've got a few Dodger fan friends too, and they're all like us: underwhelmed at best. For different reasons of course--they're waiting and hoping for a Halladay deal.

 

For what it's worth, none of them had anything particularly bad (or good) to say about him. Talk about the ultimate indifferent deal for them--Vargas was probably gone with Sherrill coming in.

[craigharmann]

Guy from the LA Times just said that Coletti might be "rewarding" Vargas for showing up to spring training and working hard. Yeah, that's it.

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

Yeah, my Dodger friend had the same reaction. When he picked up the phone I was swearing immediately. He mistook it as jealousy on my behalf and assumed that the Dodgers had picked up Halladay. It felt good to inform him that no, that had not occurred. I said nice things about Rottino, though...