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White Sox Place Nicky Lopez On Waivers

By Darragh McDonald | August 29, 2024 at 4:40pm CDT

The White Sox have placed infielder Nicky Lopez on waivers, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN on X. There hasn’t been anything to suggest he has been designated for assignment, so he remains on the roster and can continue to play for the club while the waiver process plays out. However, the waivers are irrevocable, so he will be changing jerseys if someone does put in a claim.

Players claimed prior to September 1 are playoff-eligible for their new club. Teams out of contention will be placing players on waivers now in the hopes that someone else will put in a claim and therefore take on the remainder of the player’s contract, while giving the player the chance to play more meaningful games. Players like Michael A. Taylor of the Pirates, Drew Smyly of the Cubs, Tommy Pham of the Cardinals and others have reportedly been made available this month.

The White Sox are the team in the majors furthest from contention. Their 31-104 record translates to a .230 winning percentage, putting them in the running to finish as one of the worst clubs in the modern era.

Lopez, 29, came over to the club as part of the November trade that sent left-hander Aaron Bummer to Atlanta. He has generally served as a light-hitting utility guy in his career and that has continued during his time on the South Side. He has a line of .238/.310/.290 this year, which leads to a wRC+ of 73. That’s roughly in line with his career line of .247/.311/.314, which also leads to a wRC+ of 73.

On defense, he’s capable of playing all four infield positions and has also seen some time in left field. His grades have been strong everywhere he’s played. Oddly, he has -10 Defensive Runs Saved in just 281 2/3 shortstop innings this year, but that feels anomalous since he has been roughly league average in about 2,000 innings apart from that. Outs Above Average has given him a massive +34 ranking at short in his career, which also feels odd since that’s mostly due to a huge +25 grade in 2021, but he’s still better than par when ignoring that.

The Sox can retain him for next year via arbitration but they are likely leaning towards a non-tender at this point. He is making $4.3MM this year and would be due a raise, since the arbitration system effectively always pushes salaries northward. That’s a lot of money for a role player when the most recent offseason saw guys like Enrique Hernández, Adam Duvall, Randal Grichuk, Amed Rosario, Paul DeJong and the aforementioned Taylor sign for $4MM or less.

There’s roughly $700K remaining to be paid on Lopez’s salary this year. If any contender feels especially in need of a glove-first upgrade to their position player mix, they can grab Lopez off the wire. The priority goes in reverse order of standings, but teams outside of contention won’t have motivation to grab him.

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Chicago White Sox Transactions Nicky Lopez

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View Comments (42)
Post a Comment

42 Comments

  1. mikevm3

    11 months ago

    Has anyone gotten claimed at all out of the waived guys the last couple of weeks? Just bring back August trades man

    1
    Reply
  2. markg87

    11 months ago

    You misspelled Lenyn Sosa. Time for him to go.

    3
    Reply
    • nrd1138

      11 months ago

      Im not sure why he is so vaunted by this org. I mean all I do is see him whiff a LOT with runners in scoring position and make some pretty silly errors (which also helped cost the Sox a win last night)

      1
      Reply
  3. avenger65

    11 months ago

    Lopez’ crime? A $4.3M salary next year. Why pay it when you have so many bum players willing to play for a song?

    4
    Reply
    • mlb fan

      11 months ago

      “So many bum players willing”…You must have been born with a silver spoon in your mouth if you consider the $4M salary range a “song”. Nicky Lopez is making at least DOUBLE what a talent of his ilk should be making. Incidentally, I’m running a bit short this month, any chance you can loan me $2M for a few months?..After all, it’s just a “song”.

      3
      Reply
      • GareBear

        11 months ago

        Players generate tons of revenue even if they are a “role-player”. Better that the staggering revenues than that share going to the owners’ pocketbooks.

        2
        Reply
        • DodgersBro

          11 months ago

          GB

          “Players generate tons of revenue”

          Right

          People choose to spend BILLIONS on MLB. Why people think the players shouldn’t share in that, I don’t know*

          *I do know. Financial illiteracy combined with being brainwashed by capital.

          2
          Reply
        • DoodooBean

          11 months ago

          Bread and circuses.

          Reply
      • DodgersBro

        11 months ago

        mlbf

        ““So many bum players willing”…You must have been born with a silver spoon in your mouth if you consider the $4M salary range a “song”.”

        They didn’t say that. They were saying other players will play for less than that.

        Per FanGraphs, the value of Lopez’s production this year has been $4.8 million

        What’s your reasoning for saying he’s worth half of that?

        2
        Reply
        • Thefrogsaregey

          11 months ago

          Lol. Another new name for the Communist

          1
          Reply
        • User 3222006999

          11 months ago

          Don’t know why you guys are arguing. The happiest guy in Chicago today is Nicky Lopez.

          2
          Reply
    • Kansas_City

      11 months ago

      Lopez is a great example of what Marvin Miller accomplished for the players. MLB stupidly agreed to salary arbitration for years 3 through 6. Miller wanted that rather than earlier free agency, because arbitration would push up the salaries of everyone, including mediocre players like Lopez, and avoid a large number of free agents each year, which would lower salaries due to increased supply. Charley Finley, of all people, was smart enough to argue for early free agency for more players as the best way to achieve lower salaries. A well advised and wise employer never agrees to have a third party determine the salary/wages of employees.

      Reply
  4. MacGromit

    11 months ago

    This is equivalent to the Angels’ mass waivers last season to get under the luxury tax. $700k for a late game glove that can fill 5 positions to allow your skipper to go full Brandon Hyde with matchups. Hmmm… someone is going to grab him as he has more upside (other than at the plate) than one of your stashed vets in AAA. I kind of think that the Orioles should grab Drew Smyly despite the option buyout for next year and general expense. This is the time of year for AP Rosterbation at the margins.

    4
    Reply
  5. corrosive23

    11 months ago

    Enrique HernHernándezndez, thats a unique spelling

    2
    Reply
    • letitbelowenstein

      11 months ago

      Darragh has hiccups.

      4
      Reply
    • lesterdnightfly

      11 months ago

      “Enrique HernHernándezndez, thats a unique spelling”

      He hits a lot of doubles….

      6
      Reply
  6. letitbelowenstein

    11 months ago

    Waived by the White Sox? Poor guy is probably going to get bombed on whisky over the long weekend.

    7
    Reply
    • WestVillageTiger

      11 months ago

      Plenty of fine establishments in Chicago dedicated to just that purpose!

      1
      Reply
  7. lesterdnightfly

    11 months ago

    But Chrissie, without Little Nicky, who’s going to lead the Woe Sox in Grit?

    2
    Reply
    • Acoss1331

      11 months ago

      Sosa can take care of sucking for the White Sox. He’s done a great job all season.

      1
      Reply
    • Dogbone

      11 months ago

      And, who’s going to do the Akin law commercial?

      3
      Reply
      • Acoss1331

        11 months ago

        Oh snap you’re right the Akin Law commercial! Nicky grew up here, forget the suburb he lived in so that was a bonus. Have Frank Thomas do it, at least the Big Hurt can give us nostalgia and also watching Frank stand next to the lawyer will be comical to watch lol

        1
        Reply
  8. GO1962

    11 months ago

    Lopez is known to play the position well, but he is not known as an above average hitter. He turns age 30 next year. It would make no sense for a team that is in jeopardy of setting a new record for the most losses in a season to retain a below average hitter who will soon be age 30.

    Reply
    • lesterdnightfly

      11 months ago

      Like the rest of the roster, he’s a lousy hitter, and with no power.

      The Woe Sox are now at 7 in their latest losing skid in their gritty quest to break their own record.

      1
      Reply
  9. blakestreet

    11 months ago

    What a train wreck this team is. The miracle is that anyone is still paying to watch them.

    4
    Reply
  10. Suncloud

    11 months ago

    People completely forget that they won the World Series less than 20 years ago and still have one of the most iconic stadiums in MLB.

    Reply
    • blakestreet

      11 months ago

      Comiskey was iconic. Their current stadium is ugly.

      6
      Reply
    • lesterdnightfly

      11 months ago

      Iconic in the sense that it’s plastic and lifeless. But you can catch a bullet there as a fan, so that’s something….

      6
      Reply
    • bootsday29

      11 months ago

      20 years ago and they’ve mostly been horrible since then . Iconic stadium, I don’t think so.

      6
      Reply
    • Acoss1331

      11 months ago

      Man, I live in Chicago, and root for both teams, but Sox Park is not iconic. It is serviceable at best. You want iconic? Go to Wrigley.

      3
      Reply
      • IronBallsMcGinty

        11 months ago

        Certainly not iconic but I disagree with others that it’s not a nice park. Old Comiskey was a dump.

        1
        Reply
        • blakestreet

          11 months ago

          It was only a dump on “Disco Demolition Night. “

          2
          Reply
    • Manfred Rob's Earth Band

      11 months ago

      What are your requirements for Iconic?

      Reply
      • Suncloud

        11 months ago

        Aesthetics, sight lines, location, etc.

        Reply
  11. ski44

    11 months ago

    Local product.

    Reply
  12. nrd1138

    11 months ago

    Another one bites the dust from that Bummer trade in the off-season.

    Reply
  13. lesterdnightfly

    11 months ago

    [Nicky] has a line of .238/.310/.290 this year, which leads to a wRC+ of 73. That’s roughly in line with his career line of .247/.311/.314, which also leads to a wRC+ of 73..”

    Two things of note:
    1) This year’s wRC+ of 73 matches his career mark of 73.
    That’s consistency! The kind that the Woe Sox love!

    2) His drop in OPS from a Ruthian .314 to a woeful .290 suggests that Nicky’s power stroke might have been helped by chemical substances at KC and Atlanta…

    /jk

    2
    Reply
    • Acoss1331

      11 months ago

      The Woe Sox lol

      I’m using that thank you!

      1
      Reply
  14. Atlanta Jack

    11 months ago

    Nice way to treat the hometown player. This White Sox season makes me sick. I will watch the Braves, Brewers and a lot of football.

    2
    Reply
  15. smkelly1970

    11 months ago

    how bad must it suck to be cut from what could turn out to be the worst team in MLB history?

    1
    Reply
  16. snoopy369

    11 months ago

    “One of”… thanks for not rubbing it in, but we know they’re well on their way to worst modern team record. They’d almost have to go .500 not to at this point…

    2
    Reply
  17. NoNeckWilliams

    11 months ago

    It’s sad that some people have to look at numbers on paper, to realize that Lopez is a bad baseball player.

    Reply

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