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The Cuban shortstop Alexander Vargas is now without a team in organized baseball after being released by the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, on Tuesday, April 28.
The decision is surprising because the 24-year-old from Matanzas arrived with positive offensive numbers at the start of the season: in 16 games with Chattanooga, he batted .339 (19 hits in 56 at-bats), with 14 runs scored, eight RBIs, a .383 on-base percentage, and a .776 OPS.
However, defense seems to have been the determining factor in his departure. Vargas made six errors in just 19 chances as a shortstop, a number that, as noted by Pelota Cubana USA, "carries weight at this level."
In addition to the errors, the player did not record any home runs, hit only one double and one triple, and stole two bases in four attempts during his brief stint in Double-A in 2026.
Vargas had been assigned to Chattanooga on April 3, coming from the High-A Dayton Dragons, where he finished the 2025 season with an average of .242 in 18 games after being signed by Cincinnati through a minor league contract on August 19 of that year.
The Reds signed him four days after the New York Yankees released him, an organization with which the player from Matanzas had spent seven years in the minor league system without managing to rise above the Double-A level. Ironically, Cincinnati had tried to sign him originally in 2018 but could not match the $2.5 million bonus that New York offered.
Throughout his career in the minor leagues, Vargas has accumulated a lifetime batting average of .229 in 2,008 at-bats, with 32 home runs and 118 stolen bases, never having recorded a wRC+ higher than 100 in a single season.
The case gains more attention due to the recent context: just weeks before his release, Vargas had represented Cuba in the VI World Baseball Classic 2026 as the starting shortstop, including an exhibition game during Spring Training held against the Cincinnati Reds on March 4 at Goodyear Ballpark, Arizona.
Cuba was eliminated in the group stage of the tournament with a record of two wins and two losses, falling to Puerto Rico and Canada, and finishing in tenth place overall. Venezuela claimed the championship by defeating the United States 3-2 in the final.
Vargas thus joins the list of Cuban players who participated in the Classic and left organized baseball shortly after the tournament, a trend that reflects the challenges faced by the Cuban diaspora in remaining in systems where the shortstop position demands high performance both offensively and defensively.
Cuban Baseball USA left the question that many are asking after the news: "Will Alexander Vargas have another opportunity in organized baseball?"
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