White Sox’ Miguel Vargas working hard to become complete third baseman

GLENDALE, Ariz. — There’s a noticeable difference in White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas this spring.

From the way he saunters through the clubhouse and converses with teammates to his belief in his ability, Vargas is more upbeat after working through a difficult time following his trade from the Dodgers to the Sox at the deadline in 2024.

Vargas batted .104/.217/.170 in 42 games for the Sox in 2024, and his woeful stats carried over into 2025. He was batting .139 on April 19 last season.

But after a mechanical change that saw him move his hands higher on the bat, he improved. From April 19 through the end of last season, Vargas batted .248/.329/.432. His 32 doubles led the Sox and were fifth in the majors.

Vargas’ outgoing personality is more pronounced now that he has had some decent results. His uptick in performance has helped him grow into a clubhouse leader.

And he’s not content with his offensive strides. In his second full season with the Sox, Vargas said he wants to become a complete third baseman.

‘‘I’m in a better spot mentally and physically,’’ Vargas told the Sun-Times. ‘‘I want to be an every-day third baseman. That’s one of my biggest challenges. That’s one thing that I’ve been working on.’’

Offensively, he wants to shorten his droughts and has been receptive to advice from the coaching staff.

‘‘He’ll be a smartass when he needs to be — in the best of ways — but you can definitely be hard on him,’’ Sox first-year hitting coach Derek Shomon told the Sun-Times. ‘‘He receives it exceptionally well. He wants the pushback; he wants you to challenge him.’’

Vargas said that Shomon has a good feel for hitters and that he has enjoyed working with him and assistant Joel McKeithan. Going into the offseason, however, it was his defense that needed more work.

Vargas began working on his defense as soon as last season ended. He and coach Justin Jirschele frequently talked, texted and exchanged videos during the offseason. Jirschele has said Vargas wants to be a Gold Glove winner, so they focused on improving his range and being ‘‘weightless.’’

‘‘Being weightless is so that when he’s landing, he’s not driving his feet into the ground,’’ Jirschele told the Sun-Times. ‘‘When he’s in the air, he’s got all the information he needs by the time the ball is hit. Once he lands, he knows where he’s going. His feet are already turned, and it just helps him get that burst.’’

Burst and reaction time were important for Vargas as he looked to improve his range. He was the fourth-worst defender among 39 qualified third basemen in terms of outs above average last season.

The Sox are pleased with Vargas’ arm strength at third, but they also wanted him to improve his pre-pitch setup, which allows for a smoother transition coming in and going back on grounders.

In addition to the physical improvements, Jirschele said he has noticed a shift in Vargas’ mentality.

‘‘I think it’s just confidence,’’ Jirschele said.

Last season provided Vargas with a blueprint for success in the majors.

“You’re gonna fall astray, as the valley comes for everyone,’’ Shomon said. ‘‘Nobody’s ever free of that. Your ability to get out of that quicker is really knowing yourself and knowing what that looks like on a daily basis.’’