Klentak excited to trade for ‘likable’ Vargas
Phillies GM says he was surprised by Vargas’ outburst in Mets clubhouse earlier this season
One of the dumpster-fire highlights of the latest comical New York Mets’ season has metastasized down the pike to Philadelphia, as pitcher Jason Vargas, last heard from getting into a confrontation with a team beat reporter last month yet still maintaining a slow burn on the mound, was traded to the Phillies Monday.
In return, the Phillies had to part with minor league catcher Austin Bossart, who made a name for himself as a team captain at Penn a few years ago, but at 26 was struggling to hit Double-A pitching with Reading. Known as a defense-first catcher, Bossart, a 14th-round pick in 2015, was only hitting .195 with a .638 OPS with the Fightin Phils through 63 games. The Phillies also received cash considerations, but will cover $2 million of Vargas’ $8 million salary hit.
Not that the veteran left-hander hasn’t been earning his money.
Vargas has gone 6-5 with a 4.01 ERA this season. He’s been up and down but that ERA is 3.34 over his last dozen outings.
“Jason Vargas is obviously battle-tested and he’s been a relatively effective major league pitcher for the better part of a
“Jason Vargas is obviously battletested and he’s been a relatively effective major league pitcher for the better part of a decade now...We believe that Jason Vargas is going to give us a chance to win every time he takes the ball. That’s what he does – he keeps his team in the game.”
– Phillies general manager Matt Klentak on new pitcher Jason Vargas.
ers the freedom to play to their strengths,” U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro said. “She helped raise the bar for women’s soccer in the USA and the world, and given the history of this program, the level of success she achieved is even more remarkable.”
Over the summer in France, Ellis broke April Heinrich’s U.S. women’s team record for most games coached. Overall, she has led the team in 127 matches, with 102 wins.
Ellis was named head coach after serving as interim coach following the dismissal of Tom Sermanni. Ellis also served as interim coach after Pia Sundhage resigned in 2012.
Ellis was an assistant to both Sundhage and Sermanni. She was on the staff of the gold medalwinning teams at the Beijing and London Olympics. She also served as head coach at UCLA for 12 seasons.
“When I accepted the head coaching position this was the timeframe I envisioned,” Ellis said in the statement.
“The timing is right to move on and the program is positioned to remain at the pinnacle of women’s soccer. Change is something I have always embraced in my life and for me and my family this is the right moment.”
The World Cup title in 2015 was the team’s first since winning in 1999. Overall, the team has won soccer’s most prestigious tournament four times.
The United States is set to play Portugal on Aug. 29 in Philadelphia and on Sept. 3 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The final two matches of the victory tour, set for early October, have not yet been announced.