Jason Vargas begins first day of rest of his life with Mariners

Jason Vargas, as you all know, did not get traded earlier today. He starts tonight against the Toronto Blue Jays with a chance to thank his team for sticking with him. You'll remember that, after one-hitting the Royals over eight innings last Thursday, Vargas expressed his wish to remain in Seattle.

He got his wish.

He'll take on Aaron Laffey, one of the indirect side returns for the M's in the Cliff Lee deal with Texas two years ago. The Mariners acquired four players in that deal and one of them -- Matt Lawson -- was shipped off a year ago last spring to get Laffey. Lawson is now out of baseball.

Laffey was later waived by the M's.