"¡Campeón!": How Vargas' rallying cry won over Nats

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Ildemaro Vargas walks into the clubhouse, wide smile on his face, and offers the same, one-word declaration to anyone within shouting vicinity.

“¡Campeón!”

It matters not if the Nationals won or lost the previous night, if the team is in contention or rebuilding, if it’s 8 a.m. prior to a day game or 4 p.m. prior to a night game. Vargas wants everyone to know what he thinks of them.

“Playing at this level, and knowing all sides of the business, it’s very hard to stay yourself and keep yourself up here at this level,” the utility infielder said last week, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “So to me, just the fact these guys are here and playing at this level, we’re all champions. That why I say it to everybody.”

Vargas has been doing this practically since the day he joined the Nats last summer. A 31-year-old journeyman who had spent the previous five seasons bouncing from the Diamondbacks to the Twins to the Cubs to the Pirates back to the Diamondbacks and back to the Cubs, he walked into Nationals Park as if he had as much organizational tenure as Ryan Zimmerman.

It may have caught some off-guard. Who did this guy think he was? It didn’t take long, though, to recognize the sincerity in his voice and the message he was trying to convey, whether those on the receiving end had known him for years or were just meeting him for the first time.

“I can tell you one thing about him: You know what you’re going to get every day from him,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He’s going to go out there and give you everything he’s got.”

Martinez likens Vargas to another high-energy bench player who made an immediate impact upon his arrival four years ago: Gerardo Parra. The state of the franchise may be dramatically different now than it was then, but Vargas refuses to let his team’s place in the standings alter his mood.

“Absolutely,” he said. “There’s a saying in Spanish: When you’re going through a bad time, just smile at the moment. Bring that kind of good atmosphere.”

Vargas began the 2022 season in Iowa before the Cubs called him up for a brief stint in May. When he was promptly designated for assignment, the Nationals swooped in and signed him to a minor league deal, assigning him to Triple-A Rochester, where he started turning heads with his crisp defensive play.

A promotion to Washington didn’t seem to be in the cards, but when the Nats dealt Ehire Adrianza to the Braves on the eve of the trade deadline, the need for another utility infielder presented itself and Vargas got the call. He went 4-for-4 in his debut, batted .326 with six doubles and three homers in his first 25 games and wound up as the everyday third baseman down the stretch.

What allowed a guy with a .622 OPS in the majors prior to that point have that kind of instant success?

“The confidence,” he said. “The defense I was able to play. And just the little things I think I was able to do to help the team win. I think the confidence I gained was a big part of it.”

That show of confidence went both ways. Vargas acted like he belonged there. And Martinez and the Nationals treated him like he deserved to be a significant part of the team, a display that continued into the offseason when they brought him back for $975,000.

This spring, Martinez hasn’t hesitated to declare Vargas as a member of his Opening Day roster, the only bench player who appears to be guaranteed a job when camp breaks.

“Very excited,” Vargas said. “Based on how I played last year, I had it in my heart that maybe the opportunity was going to be there. I’m very excited and grateful for the opportunity they gave me, based on my performance. This year, I’m coming back with the kind of mentality that now I’m here to work and help the team in any way possible.”

He’ll do so on the field, subbing for a starting infielder who needs a day off. He’ll do so in the clubhouse, serving as a mentor to younger teammates.

And he’ll do it all with a smile and that familiar, one-word greeting to everyone he encounters.

“You know what, that’s just my personality,” Vargas said. “I’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of friends in this sport, and a lot of it has to do with the way I go about it and how I get along. My smile, my energy, I felt like as soon as I came up here, I kind of pushed it on everybody else and we became close. I was able to do that last year and just felt embraced.”