Meneses and Vargas helped make lean years more fun

Ildemaro Vargas and Joey Meneses arrived in Washington one day apart from each other, Vargas getting the call up from Triple-A Rochester on Aug. 1, 2022, to replace the traded Ehire Adrianza and Meneses called up the following afternoon to replace the traded Juan Soto.

Neither was a household name upon donning a Nationals uniform for the first time, but each made an immediate name for himself with an electric debut performance, Vargas going 4-for-4 and Meneses homering in his first major league game.

Thus did these two journeymen in their 30s become something of cult heroes on South Capitol Street, maybe the perfect encapsulation of the Nats during one of the lowest points in club history.

That 2022 team not only traded Soto, it proceeded to lose 107 games. And yet amid the disaster that was August and September of that season, there were genuine bright spots, individuals who made the most of the opportunity they were given and became fan favorites in the process.

Meneses was an out-of-nowhere revelation, a 30-year-old rookie who toiled for a decade in the minors, never getting a chance to prove he could hit major league pitchers. All he did during those final two months in 2022 was bat .324 with 13 homers, 34 RBIs and a .930 OPS that trailed only Manny Machado among all National League hitters during that span.

And even though he never recaptured that MVP-caliber performance, Meneses still was a productive big league hitter in 2023, batting .275 with 36 doubles, 13 homers and 89 RBIs while ranking among the league leaders with runners in scoring position.

Vargas’ performances weren’t quite as dramatic, but after bouncing around four different big league clubs the previous five years, he quickly found a home in D.C. and played some decent baseball along the way.

Vargas delivered a .706 OPS in 2022 and played sparkling defense to rack up 1.5 WAR in only 53 games. He returned in 2023 to play everywhere in the field and establish himself as a true clubhouse leader thanks to his perpetually upbeat personality and silly catchphrases.

On a bad team, these guys were fun to have around. They made all those losses a little more tolerable.

And deep down, you knew they probably wouldn’t still be around once this team was ready to win again.

The writing was already on the wall for Meneses this summer when he was optioned to Triple-A after a dismal first half at the plate (.231/.291/.302). And when his replacement, Juan Yepez, proved plenty adequate to finish out the season, it was clear there was no longer a place for Meneses in Washington.

Vargas presented a slightly different case, because there was still an argument to bring him back at least to start the 2025 season in his familiar utility role. Then if he didn’t perform well enough and someone else proved ready to take over, the time to cut ties would’ve been clear.

Instead, the Nationals decided to just do it now. Both Meneses and Vargas were placed on waivers over the weekend. And when both went unclaimed, both had earned the right either to accept outright assignments to Triple-A or become free agents. Both chose to become free agents Monday, officially ending their tenures with the organization.

It made for a bittersweet evening, the departures of these two popular-if-flawed veterans from the team that was able to give them the kind of opportunity they couldn’t get elsewhere. But it also perhaps signaled the Nats’ intentions entering what could be their most eventful offseason in four years.

Meneses and Vargas were acceptable players on bad teams. The Nationals have visions of being a good team in 2025. They are likely to pursue a more established first baseman closer to his prime. They also may be ready to hand over the utility job to Jose Tena or Nasim Nunez, rookies who showed some potential in September.

We don’t know yet just how aggressive the Nats will be this winter, or whether any of that will translate into a winning record next year. But the early indication is that general manager Mike Rizzo is ready to get serious again. That means cutting ties with some popular players who simply wouldn’t cut it on a playoff-caliber roster.

In a perfect world, we’ll be talking about a star-laden team of players performing under the bright lights of October for years to come. But if and when that happens, make sure to take a moment to think back to these recent lean years and appreciate those players, like Joey Meneses and Ildemaro Vargas, who helped make it just a little more tolerable.