WBN’s International Player of the Week is the Cardenales de Lara’s third baseman, Ildemaro Vargas, in Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional.
Vargas, 33, is a Venezuelan-born outfielder who also played for the Washington Nationals last season. He has been on fire in his previous four games of the LVBP championship against the Bravos de Margarita with three straight three-hit games. He has 10 hits in 19 at-bats (.526 batting average), one home run, and two RBI in the LVBP Championship Series.
He put together a solid season in the LVBP with three home runs, 15 RBI, and an OPS of .853 in 117 at-bats. He has played in the LVBP for 11 years; the last nine have been with Cardenales de Lara. His first winter in the LVBP was in 2012-13 Caribes de Anzoategui.
His career numbers in the LVBP are 20 home runs, 168 RBI, 43 stolen bases, and a slash line of .310/.379/.425 in 1502 at-bats.
Vargas signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as an international free agent out of Venezuela in 2008. He has been in their farm system for seven seasons, making it as high as their Double-A affiliate, the Springfield Cardinals. He was released after the 2014 season and played 30 games with the Bridgeport Bluefish in the Atlantic League in 2015.
He quickly returned to an MLB organization by signing a MiLB deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 26, 2015. In 2017, he made his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks and played 144 games with them until he was designated for assignment at the beginning of the 2020 season.
Vargas also played for the Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs in 2020. His most notable moment was with the Cubs when he hit a home run off Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader. In 2021, he played with the Pittsburgh Pirates and also returned to the Cubs and Diamondbacks.
His MLB career numbers are 17 home runs, 126 RBI, 16 stolen bases, and a slash line of .246/.289/.354 in 1,192 at-bats.
