After a lost 2015, Twins' Kennys Vargas hopes to make opportunity knock

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – Kennys Vargas looks at the Minnesota Twins roster and can’t find a spot for himself. General manager Terry Ryan says they’ll make room if Vargas forces his way in.

Wherever he might wind up, Vargas is banking on spending much more time in the big leagues than he did in 2015.

The switch-hitting slugger played his way out of the majors last season, after an encouraging 2014 debut that seemed to augur his longtime presence as a source of power in the middle of Minnesota’s lineup. Instead, Vargas struggled so badly the Twins demoted him to Class AAA, then AA.

Vargas, 25, got the message. He dropped 22 pounds to his current 270 – manageable given his 6-5 frame – and worked on his defense at first base. More important, Vargas’ bat came alive with a winter ball stint in his native Puerto Rico that saw him earn league MVP honors after batting .308 with seven homers, 20 RBI and a .915 OPS in 33 games.

“I was looking to improve my fielding and my approach at the plate, and I accomplished that,’’ Vargas said Thursday, the day after hitting a three-run homer that propelled Puerto Rico to a 12-1 victory over Cuba in the Caribbean Series. “I didn’t have a very productive season with Minnesota, so I decided to play winter ball to improve some aspects of the game that worked for me in 2014, and I have managed that.’’

Vargas made an impression after first getting called up on Aug. 1, 2014, collecting 38 hits and 24 RBI for the highest such numbers for any player in his first month in the majors since Joe DiMaggio racked up 48 and 28 in May 1936. Vargas later cooled off, but still finished with a .274 batting average, nine homers and 38 RBI in 53 games, mostly as a designated hitter.

With his gregarious personality and huge stature, he inspired comparisons to Boston Red Sox icon and former Twin David Ortiz. Those stopped in a hurry when Vargas hit .172 with one homer in April, and they looked downright silly when the Twins demoted him May 18.

Even though he had started to swing the bat better, Vargas had just three homers and 10 RBI at that point, leaving a big power void in the lineup. And, in an oddity among switch-hitters, he couldn’t solve right-handers, who held him to a .183 batting average for the season. Vargas wound up playing 73 games in the minors and 58 in three stints with the Twins.

“He went through a trying year, as did a few of our young players,’’ Ryan said. “Sometimes that does happen, the second go-round up here, the adjustability that has to take place, and obviously the reputation Kennys brought after a half year in the big leagues. He was a threat. We all knew that, and so did the opposing pitchers, the opposing defense.

“We haven’t given up on Kennys by any stretch. He’s still got a high ceiling. Now it’s up to him to come in and show some of the gifts he does possess, because the guy’s got talent.’’

But it’s questionable whether he’ll get to display it for the Twins.

Vargas’ slimmed-down physique and improved fielding would make him an option at first base, except three-time batting champion Joe Mauer is stationed there. After Vargas was sent down, the DH spot was mostly occupied by power-hitting rookie Miguel Sano, a third baseman who is getting moved to the outfield this year.

There’s still no opening at DH, however, because the Twins invested nearly $25 million in acquiring Korean first baseman Byung Ho Park in the offseason and he figures to take over that spot. The club also signed veteran Carlos Quentin, another DH candidate, to a minor-league contract.

For Vargas to make the team out of spring training, he’ll have to cut down on the high-strikeout (29%) and low-walk (5%) rates that dogged him last season, when his OPS dipped from .772 to .626.

“I would very much like to have the problem of making room for Kennys,’’ Ryan said. “We said the same thing about (outfielder Oswaldo) Arcia. People talk about Oswaldo, and he’s got as much power as Kennys. He struggled, and now it’s up to them to come in and make my life difficult when it comes to decision-making.’’

That decision may involve a trade, especially if Vargas shows he can return to his 2014 form and increase his value. Power is always a desirable commodity, and even more so coming from someone who can deliver it from both sides of the plate.

“I don’t see any place for me on the team as I look at the roster, but I have hopes of playing in the major leagues anyway,’’ Vargas said. “I’ll go to spring training, do my job and hope to get an opportunity.’’