Infielder Nicky Lopez He chose a minor league deal with the Yankees and is now a free agent, according to Robert Murray yesterday. Lopez signed with the organization earlier last month.
The 30-year-old was the Royals’ fifth-round draft pick in 2016 and made his debut in the 2019 season. He was a highlight midfielder in the first two seasons at Kansas City, and in his 159 games he had a brutal .228/.279/.307 (55 WRC+) line. Although he was roughly a substitute player in these two seasons, he exploded a lot in the 2021 season. That year, he cut .300/.365/.378 with a 104 WRC+ and combined the roughly average slash with the elite defense of the shortstop and 22 stolen bases to put together the 5.5 Fwar season.
Starting in 2022, Lopez’s version looks like a potential All-Star, but his .347 Babip that year proved unsustainable. In 2022, he dropped to WRC+’s 55, and despite his strong defense and foundation keeping him better than the substitute level, he hasn’t been going well in the following years. He bounced between 2023 and 24 on the south side of Kansas City, Atlanta and Chicago, cutting modestly improved .238/.317/.299 (77 WRC+) (77 WRC+) with a high-contact approach (15.1% strikeout rate), but still couldn’t get enough power or issue enough BABIP to provide average even production.
Lopez entered his 20s and showed a drop in speed and defense, working hard to work in the major league job in his 30-year-old campaign. He rebounded year-round between the Bears, Angels, Rattlers and Yankees, but played in just 19 major league games with Chicago and Anaheim. In 28 sets in this year’s Grand Slam, he was only 24-1 with four walks and four strikeouts. Meanwhile, his Triple-A numbers in Arizona and New York were better, but his cut rate was tedious due to his 11.5% strikeout efficiency.
No one should sign Lopez’s offense, but he still offers above average defense and can be a decent contact-oriented pinch. This is enough to be a potentially useful bench piece, and with the trade deadline approaching, it seems that some teams may sign Lopez as an in-depth choice in the coming days. He may be limited to minor league offers, but teams with a chance of particularly thin infield games may immediately add him to their bench in order to raise their roster to their roster. After the Yankees picked up at the club, the Yankees had much less demand for this infield depth. Ryan McMahon,,,,, Amed Rosarioand Jose Caballero Change their bench combination by the deadline earlier this week. Jorbit Vivas and Braden Shewmake Staying in the 40-man lineup can also be used as a potential depth option.
