Jason Vargas’ strong first half ends on a sad note, as the Royals left-hander underwent an appendectomy Wednesday and is expected to miss at least 3-4 weeks.
Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports that Bruce Chen will step into Vargas’ rotation spot after posting a 7.11 ERA in 25 innings so far this season. Chen did have a 3.61 ERA in 15 starts for the Royals last year. The good news, according to McCullough, is that Vargas’ appendix didn’t burst and he was able to make it to the hospital after waking up with severe abdominal pain at 4:00 am.
Signed to a four-year, $32 million contract this offseason that draw quite a bit of criticism, Vargas has a career-best 3.31 ERA and was on pace for a career-high 225 innings after throwing just 150 innings for the Angels last year.
