Jul 23, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; General view of Cincinnati Reds hat during the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Cincinnati Reds Sign Former Highly Ranked Yankees Prospect to Minor League Deal

Originally posted on Cincinnati Reds on SI
By Greg Kuffner | Last updated Aug 19, 2025 6:18 PM ET

The Cincinnati Reds signed former highly ranked New York Yankees prospect Alexander Vargas to a minor league deal on Tuesday.

Vargas, a shortstop, was the Yankees' 13th-ranked prospect in 2021. They paid $2.5 million for Vargas back in 2018.

"The Reds were prohibited from paying out more than $300,000 in international bonuses in 2018 but thought they had worked out a deal with Vargas for the start of the next year's signing period," MLB Pipeline wrote. "The Yankees wanted him badly enough to pull off a pair of trades to add international pool money, sending Caleb Frare to the White Sox and Giovanny Gallegos and Chasen Shreve to the Cardinals in July 2018 (also stealing Luke Voit from St. Louis in the process), then swooping in and grabbing Vargas for $2.5 million a month later."

The 23-year-old has spent 2025 between High-A and Double-A, slashing .226/.291/.359 with 22 extra-base hits and 20 stolen bases.

The Reds assigned Vargas to High-A Dayton.

You can see the full minor league transaction log here.

This article first appeared on Cincinnati Reds on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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