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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Out of lineup again
Rotowire
Vargas is not in the Diamondbacks' starting lineup against the Nationals on Sunday.
It's the third game in a row in which Vargas will be on the bench for the start of the game. With Pavin Smith serving as the team's DH, Vargas has been losing playing time to rookie LuJames Groover, who is starting at first base and batting eighth in Sunday's series finale.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Comes off bench again
Rotowire
Vargas (thigh) entered Saturday's game as a pinch hitter, went 0-for-1, and finished as the designated hitter in a 6-1 loss to Washington.
Vargas, who was removed from Thursday's game with a thigh issue, has come off the bench in the next two contests. He was able to play defense Friday before getting a plate appearance Saturday, indicating he has no limitations and may simply be slipping back into a bench role. The recent activation of Pavin Smith from the injured list and the call-up of prospect LuJames Groover, who started at first base Friday and Saturday, appears to be impacting Vargas' playing time.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Not in Saturday's lineup
Rotowire
Vargas (thigh) is not in the Diamondbacks' starting lineup against the Nationals on Saturday.
Vargas is dealing with a left thigh contusion that forced him to leave Thursday's game against the Dodgers. He entered Friday's game against Washington after being absent from the starting lineup, so Vargas could be available off the bench for the Diamondbacks for Saturday's contest. LuJames Groover will start at first base and bat eighth.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Enters game late
Rotowire
Vargas (thigh) entered Friday's game in the eighth inning to play second base. He did not get a plate appearance in a 14-1 loss to the Nationals.
Vargas was injured in a scary collision with Los Angeles' Max Muncy on Thursday but appears to have avoided a serious injury. That he was able to play the field for a couple of innings is an encouraging sign that Vargas can resume his role sharing first base and DH with occasional work at other infield spots.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Sitting down Friday
Rotowire
Vargas (thigh) isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against the Nationals, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.
Vargas left Thursday's game with a thigh injury after a collision, and the D-backs will keep him out of action Friday to allow him to recover. His absence will allow LuJames Groover to make his MLB debut starting at first base and batting fifth.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Leaves game after collision
Rotowire
Vargas was removed from Thursday's game against the Dodgers in the fifth inning after colliding with Max Muncy at first base, Jack Sommers of SI.com reports.
Muncy legged out an infield single in the top of the fifth, but he and Vargas violently collided at the bag. Both players spent several minutes on the ground before each was helped off the field. Pavin Smith has replaced Vargas at first base. Vargas went 0-for-2 at the plate before the injury.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Considered day-to-day
Rotowire
Manager Torey Lovullo said Vargas is day-to-day with a bruised left thigh and rib cage after colliding with Max Muncy in Thursday's game against the Dodgers, Jose M. Romero of The Arizona Republic reports.
While Vargas is considered day-to-day, Lovullo said Vargas is unlikely to play Friday against the Nationals. It's still good news after he and Muncy were involved in a big collision at first base in the fifth inning Thursday. Pavin Smith came on to replace Vargas at first base following his injury.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Productive outs in win
Rotowire
Vargas went 1-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Tuesday's 7-5 win over San Francisco.
Vargas had a couple of productive outs that knocked in runs. He's been in a significant slump the last two weeks -- Tuesday's eighth-inning double snapped an 0-for-22 run -- but Vargas continues to lead the team with 34 RBI. The 34-year-old infielder is slashing .303/.332/.486 over 194 plate appearances.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Day off amid mini slump
Rotowire
Vargas is not in the lineup for Monday's game in San Francisco.
Vargas is in the middle of a mini slump, having gone hitless over his last five contests. Jose Fernandez will grab a start at first base while Vargas regroups.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Four hits in win
Rotowire
Vargas went 4-for-5 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 9-1 win over the Rockies.
Vargas got the rout started with a run-scoring single in the first inning and logged hits in his first four plate appearances. It was his third consecutive game with two RBI, giving him 30 over his first 36 games. That's one shy of the career-high 31 he had across 86 games for the Nationals in 2023. It's been an unprecedented year for the utility infielder, who entered 2026 batting .249 and averaging 16 RBI across nine MLB seasons. Just when it looked like he was regressing, he's responded by going 7-for-14 with six RBI over the last three contests.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Plates two runs in loss
Rotowire
Vargas went 1-for-5 with two RBI in Wednesday's 6-5 loss to Texas.
Vargas' two-run single in the ninth inning gave the Diamondbacks a 5-3 lead, but closer Paul Sewald couldn't convert the save. It was the second consecutive two-RBI game for Vargas, who has knocked in seven runs over the last nine games despite batting just .189 (7-for-37) during that stretch. When given RISP opportunities, Vargas has delivered a .343 average and .743 slugging percentage. He leads Arizona with 28 RBI.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Homers in loss
Rotowire
Vargas went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Tuesday's 7-4 loss to the Rangers.
Vargas had two of the four hits Arizona could muster, including a second-inning solo homer. He later singled in a run during the team's three-run ninth inning. It was the career-high seventh home run for Vargas, who achieved that feat in just 34 games.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Scuffling since streak
Rotowire
Vargas went 0-for-4 in Monday's 1-0 win over Texas.
Vargas, who opened the season with a 24-game hitting streak, was held hitless for a second consecutive game and is just 5-for-36 (.139) in the nine games since the hit streak ended. A regression was to be expected, but that won't cost him the starting job at first base. The Diamondbacks announced Monday that Carlos Santana aggravated his adductor injury Sunday and will not be returning this week to challenge Vargas for playing time.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Scores twice in win
Rotowire
Vargas went 0-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Mets.
Vargas was involved in the offense for a second straight game after driving in both runs in Saturday's 2-0 win. The utility infielder is expected to stick at first base even with the pending activation of Carlos Santana (thigh). Vargas is slashing .341/.366/.571 with six home runs, a team-high 24 RBI and 21 runs scored over 32 games.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Sticking at first base
Rotowire
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Thursday there are no plans to take playing time away from Vargas when Carlos Santana (thigh) is ready to be activated, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.
Gilbert reports that Santana could rejoin the Diamondbacks as early as Friday, but there may not be a path to regular at-bats for the 39-year-old, who batted .083 over eight games at the time of his injury. Vargas has filled in at first base and has been an offensive juggernaut for Arizona, compiling a .364/.386/.627 slash line while topping the team with six home runs and 22 RBI.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Hitting streak comes to end
Rotowire
Vargas went 0-for-4 in Saturday's loss to the Cubs.
Arizona's offense was limited to four hits and zero runs by Chicago, so Vargas certainly wasn't the only Diamondback to have a quiet day at the plate. The veteran infielder entered the game with three straight multi-hit performances and a 24-game hitting streak to open the campaign, and he's still slashing a robust .388/.412/.673 overall, so Saturday's hitless effort shouldn't dim what has been an out-of-nowhere torrid start.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Extends streak with four-hit game
Rotowire
Vargas went 4-for-4 with a walk and an RBI in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Cubs.
While Arizona wasn't able to take advantage of having Vargas on base every time through the order, it was still another impressive effort from the 34-year-old switch hitter. Vargas has hit safely in 24 straight games to begin the campaign, tied for the second-longest streak within a single season in Diamondbacks history with Tony Womack in 2000, and his overall streak stands at 27 games dating back to the end of last year -- putting him within striking distance of matching or exceeding Luis Gonzalez's club-record streak of 30 games, set in 1999. Vargas is slashing a stunning .404/.429/.702 so far in 2026 with 14 extra-base hits, including six homers to already tie his career high, along with 19 runs and 21 RBI.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Keeps rolling
Rotowire
Vargas went 2-for-5 with a run scored in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Brewers.
Vargas wasted little time extending his season-opening hit streak to 22 games when he singled in his first plate appearance. Going back to 2025, the utility infielder has hit safely in 25 consecutive games. Vargas, who has become the team's primary first baseman, doesn't have any real competition for playing time at the moment with both Carlos Santana (thigh) and Pavin Smith (elbow) on the injured list.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Huge offensive performance in win
Rotowire
Vargas went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, a three-RBI triple, a double and two additional runs scored in Sunday's victory over San Diego.
Vargas was a catalyst in Arizona's come-from-behind win, launching a solo homer in the sixth inning before adding a three-run triple in the eighth inning to extend the lead. While he fell a single shy of the cycle Sunday, the veteran journeyman has rarely come up short throughout the 2026 campaign. Vargas has never produced an OPS+ above 100 in a season since debuting in 2017, yet he's slashing an eye-popping .367/.383/.722 with six homers, 20 RBI and 18 runs through 20 contests.
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Diamondbacks' Ildemaro Vargas: Moves to short Saturday
Rotowire
Vargas started at first base and went 1-for-4 with a run scored in Saturday's 6-4 loss to the Padres.
Vargas extended his season-opening hit streak to 19 games (.351/.368/.649) with a second-inning single. He later moved to shortstop when Geraldo Perdomo (ankle) was removed in the seventh inning. Either Vargas or Jose Fernandez could fill in for Perdomo, if the injury prevents him from playing Sunday.
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