There’s only one place to really start when discussing Jason Vargas’s 2019 tenure with the New York Mets: the time he threatened to beat up reporter Tim Healey. This buffoonish, despicable action has never been atoned for, nor even really apologized for, which is hard to believe. But that’s the truth of the matter, and Vargas should not get a pass for creating an unsafe work environment for a beat reporter.
And it was for that reason, among others, that fans were more or less absolutely fine with the Mets trading Vargas to the Phillies ahead of the July 31st trading deadline, even with the relative pittance the team received.