At the conclusion of the season, it appeared as though the Twins would have far too many first basemen and designated hitters on the roster. Joe Mauer was entrenched at first, Miguel Sano wouldn't be playing third base due to Trevor Plouffe, plus you could toss in Kennys Vargas, Oswaldo Arcia, and Josmil Pinto that were all deserving of playing time. Well, Pinto is no longer with the Twins anymore but the organization went and signed Byung Ho Park anyway, making this logjam even worse. Now there are talks of Sano playing the outfield and who knows where Arcia and Vargas fit in.
I'm going to focus mainly on Vargas. A constant receiver of David Ortiz comparisons due to his size and power, Vargas made his debut in 2014 and left a lasting impression. Though his plate discipline numbers weren't great, he still hit .274/.316/.456 with 9 home runs in just over 200 plate appearances. Last season was a completely different story as he hit only .240/.277/.349, and he was such a mess that Danny Santana - who had an even worse season than Vargas - became Paul Molitor's primary pinch-hitter over the final two weeks of the season while Vargas couldn't even sniff a single at-bat.
Since Kennys Vargas still has a minor league option remaining, the Twins have no concern with keeping him on the bench to start the season. He could be stashed at Triple-A and could be called up whenever the team has a need. According to Rhett Bollinger, there were some rumors about Vargas being sold to a team in Japan or Korea, but as Bollinger stated, it does make sense to hold on to Vargas for the time being.
Still, it's tough to see a scenario where Vargas remains part of the Twins' future. It would require a significant injury occurring to either Mauer or Park, and even then Vargas still has to compete with several other players to even see the field. Besides, while some fans may worry about Vargas exploding upon joining another team just like David Ortiz, we have to remember that these are two players similar in stature only. Ortiz is still the more powerful hitter, plus he struck out far less and walked far more than Vargas. Considering there's no room for Vargas on the roster, losing him in my opinion would not sting that much.
Of course there is still a full season to be played and who knows what could happen, but I feel that Vargas' door with the Twins is rapidly closing. Barring a break or two, I would not be surprised if Vargas does not have much of a role for the major league club in the future.