They made him shave his head. He pitched through a bone spur. 2007 wasn’t the best year generally speaking.

Photo: Chris Livingston/The New York Times

The Mets signed Jason Vargas to a two-year, $16 million contract with a 2020 club option. Of course they did; Vargas was a Met a decade ago, and the Mets love nothing more than reunions. The Mets brought back Jay Bruce and Jose Reyes, didn’t they? “What is old is new again, but older, also what is inflation?” is a heavy favorite for the official 2018 Mets slogan.

I can’t make the joke that Jason Vargas is so old he was drafted by the Florida Marlins because he is older than me (barely). This occurred in 2004, and he was selected in the second round. Vargas leaped from Single-A to the big leagues in 2005 and pitched to a 1.7 Fangraphs WAR in just 73.2 innings. He really struggled in 2006, and Florida dealt him and pitcher Adam Bostick that November to the Mets for Matt Lindstrom and Henry Owens. Moises Alou signed with the Mets the same day, so the trade was mostly ignored.

Poughkeepsie Journal November 21, 2006

Bostick never made the show. The Henry Owens in this deal is not the one you’re thinking of: this one was right-handed, pitched decently for Florida in 2007, and by all intents and purposes disappeared after that. Lindstrom picked up some saves with the Marlins and Astros, last pitching in the major leagues in 2014. Vargas’ career fWAR is 13.7, over nine wins higher than Lindstrom.

When Vargas talked to The New York Times on Valentine’s Day 2007, he was in competition with Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber, Chan Ho Park, Aaron Sele, John Maine, Oliver Perez, Jorge Sosa, and Alay Soler to make the starting rotation (Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernandez’s spots were secure. Pedro Martinez was injured.) Vargas ended up making two starts that season.

His first start as a Met was on May 17, 2007, and it was a memorable one. Ramon Castro and Ruben Gotay shaved his head with no consideration whatsoever for his “nice flowing locks”.

The Journal News May 18, 2007

It wasn’t some horrible newbie prank. The entire team really did shave their heads.

Screen: SNY. Capture: Metstoday.com

The actual horrible newbie prank was Willie Randolph not putting Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran in the lineup. Poor Vargas knew he had little margin for error, and came through by tossing five scoreless innings before serving up two two-run homers in the sixth. In the bottom of the ninth, thanks to pinch hit appearances by Beltran and Wright, the Mets came back to win in a game they were essentially trying to give away and losing 5–1 with three outs left. You’ve seen the end of this game on Amazin’ Finishes. Poor Vargas was edited out.

Ambiorix Burgos got the win. Jason Vargas got a plane ticket back to Triple-A New Orleans a few days later. Bald.

The Mets let him have one more chance about six weeks later. At Coors Field, of course. He gave up 11 earned runs in 3.1 innings. This was a less memorable game, but one can call it the Kaz Matsui Revenge Game, seeing as Kaz went 5-for-5 with five singles that night. Vargas returned to Triple-A.

On October 3, 2007 it was announced that Vargas had a bone spur removed. Basically, Vargas was Steven Matz, except not from Long Island, which admittedly would make him not Steven Matz at all.

Vargas required surgery on his left hip the following March. He missed the entire season. He later admitted he started dealing with hip stiffness midway through 2007 and tried to just play through it and hope an offseason of rest would cure it. He changed his mind when doctors told him that approach might be a painful road towards hip replacement surgery.

Vargas was dealt to the Mariners in a three-team, 12 player trade in November 2008. Endy Chavez and Aaron Heilman were the notable Mets who moved to the Pacific Northwest in the deal. Joe Smith went to Cleveland. The Mets notably received Mariners closer J.J. Putz. Cleveland traded outfielder Franklin Gutierrez to Seattle. Vargas, again, ended up the best player in a trade he was involved with, if you go by fWAR from the point of the trade to today, and I, the author, do.

Vargas was an average starter and reliever for the Mariners in 2009 before he had a breakout, career best campaign in 2010. The team figured he might be really good during spring training. Asked right before that career year why he had such a surprisingly good spring training, Vargas told The Daily News (in Seattle) his good March numbers were thanks to time doing its thing.

Just another year back off surgery. And it’s the second year in a row I’ve gotten to work with the same pitching coach.

Vargas was dealt again in December 2012 to the Angels for Kendrys Morales. He signed with the Royals and got a World Series ring (grr) despite missing the 2015 postseason because of Tommy John surgery. The first half of his first full season after the surgery earned him his first All-Star appearance. His second half was kind of the opposite.

Vargas’ poor ending to 2017 did not stop the Mets from bringing him back. Maybe the Mets felt they owed the guy after how things ended the first time in New York. Maybe they noted that his great 2010 was under the same circumstances Vargas finds himself in 2018, where he is another year removed from surgery, and with the same pitching coach — Dave Eiland — who was the Royals’ pitching coach for years before taking the same role with the Mets this year.

Also, pitching depth was definitely an issue for the team. Definitely the pitching depth.

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