BOSTON — Miguel Vargas took grounders at third base in a rotation with Lenyn Sosa and Bryan Ramos on Friday before Chicago White Sox faced the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
He then participated in batting practice, hitting a few pitches to right field during his first session.
Vargas said he is “ready to go” a couple of days after a scary collision with left fielder Andrew Benintendi during the second inning of Tuesday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.
“Everything is good,” Vargas said Friday afternoon.
Vargas was not in the starting lineup for the series opener.
“He’s doing OK,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said. “Today was still a planned day off, want to make sure he has another day of full activity with no lingering symptoms. As far as I’ve heard, everything is good.”
Vargas spent Wednesday recovering after leaving Tuesday’s game with a cut on his right eye.
Vargas, Benintendi and shortstop Jacob Amaya were in the area, chasing after a bases-loaded pop fly near the left-field line. But instead of the third out, disaster struck. All three base runners scored after Vargas smacked into Benintendi and the ball rolled away.
“They’ve got the bases loaded and obviously you don’t want to drop the ball,” Vargas said. “I didn’t see, I wasn’t feeling how far I was going for the ball (in the outfield). I was looking at the ball the whole time and I didn’t hear anything.”
Vargas said it’s possible crowd noise played a role in him not hearing Benintendi call for the ball. Sizemore said after the game that it was Benintendi’s ball.
“Tough (play), but it should not happen,” Vargas said. “It’s something nobody wants to happen. Take(s) me out for a couple of games. It sucks.”
Vargas remained in the game for one batter before exiting.
“When I got to the mound (during a pitching change), my teammates told me how red I got my eye and they told me, ‘If you have to go, you go,’” Vargas said. “’Check your eyes and check that everything’s fine.’”
Vargas made steady progress.
“The first day, a little bit of a headache from the impact,” he said. “But felt good (Thursday) and I feel good today. They told me take a couple of days and see how it goes. They’ve been watching me every day, doing some tests, and I think I’m ready to go.”
Sosa shifted from second to third base after Vargas left. Sosa started at third on Wednesday and Friday. The team was off Thursday. The Sox also recalled Ramos from Triple-A Charlotte while placing Brooks Baldwin on the injured list Wednesday with a right wrist sprain.
“Ramos is going to play, mostly at third when he does play because that’s where he’s most comfortable,” Sizemore said. “Try to get him in there as much as I can, rotate him with Vargas, get him in there when I can.
“Vargas has been playing good, prior to getting hurt the other day he was swinging good and playing good third base. So I want to get him back and feeling good, comfortable again and get him the reps. I don’t have a set 50-50, 60-40 (split for the rotation), I’m just going to kind of play it game by game.”
Vargas is hitting .122 (10-for-82) with one home run and four RBIs in 26 games since being acquired near the trade deadline from the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a three-team deal that included the St. Louis Cardinals.
“It’s kind of sad when I cannot perform as I want to, but my teammates and coaches have been great with me and they help me a lot,” Vargas said.
A double in the ninth inning of Saturday’s game against the New York Mets began a stretch of three hits in his last seven at-bats.
“It’s tough to see, bad timing,” Sizemore said. “Obviously struggling when he got here, finally got to that stretch where he was having some good at-bats and was starting to get more comfortable.
“It was obviously a step back, but one of those things that happens. Once he’s good to go, we’ll get him back in there and hopefully pick up where he left off.”
Korey Lee scratched from lineup: The White Sox catcher was a late scratch from Friday’s starting lineup because of back tightness. Chuckie Robinson filled in behind the plate.
