Infielder Nicky Lopez has been designated for assignment by the Cubs, reports Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times. That was the expected corresponding move when it was reported earlier that Matt Shaw was coming back up to the big leagues. The Cubs’ 40-man roster count drops to 39.
Lopez, 30, has been bouncing in and out of the Cubs’ plans this year. He signed a minor league deal with them in the winter but opted out of that deal when he didn’t make the Opening Day roster. He then signed a big league deal with the Angels but was released by that club after a bit less than a month on the roster. At that time, Shaw had just been optioned to the minors after a sluggish start to the season, so the Cubs brought Lopez back and gave him a big league deal.
He didn’t get too much out of the opportunity, mostly getting plugged in as a defensive specialist. In almost a month with the Cubs, he got into 19 games but stepped to the plate just 28 times. He only hit .042/.179/.042 in those.
That’s a bit of an extreme microcosm of his whole career, as he has generally been a glove-first infielder. In 2,374 plate appearances, he has a .245/.310/.311 batting line and 72 wRC+. But he has generally received strong grades for his infield defense. He has spent most of his time at the middle infield positions but also has logged some work in the corners and in left field.
With Shaw coming back up, Lopez has been nudged from rarely-used bench piece into DFA limbo. He is likely to end up on waivers in the coming days. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, so he might be on the open market soon. He could perhaps garner interest from clubs looking for a bench infielder who’s good with the leather.
Photo courtesy of Benny Sieu, Imagn Images
Boy, that was a surprise! Didn’t see that one coming!
Grandpa Larry is not going to be pleased.
Or his pops. Chicago 16″ softball legend
Not given much of a chance lately. He should hook up with another team soon.
Shoulda kept Little Nicky. HUGE defensive asset, way more value with that alone than Justin Turner’s negative defensive value at both first and third, as well as providing subpar offense out of the DH spot. At least they’re not batting him 4th or 5th anymore
How is ‘Little Nicky’ not one of his official nicknames on his baseballreference.com profile? What gives?
Nice to be a HUGE defensive asset, but that you have to get more than one hit in 24 at bats.
Especially when they have HUGE assets, that hit, at every other single position on the field.
Really can’t argue with your take on Justin Turner, but he is, right now, the right handed hitting, back up first baseman. Somebody has to the be the 26th man and Turner, in reality, is more important, at this time, than Lopez.
“Shoulda kept little Nicky”…I’m not trying to be a d*ck, but how do fans, with extremely limited information think they know more than the insiders and team professionals that see and track the players every day?
You know, the professional people who actually get paid to make these player personnel decisions and in many cases have been doing it their whole adult lives.
Personally, I’ve been watching MLB since the late 60’s and know quite a bit about baseball. That being said, I know considerably less than the professional people who travel with and monitor the players every single day.
I, just like you, am not privy to doctors reports, disciplinary issues, clubhouse behavior, player personalities, teachability, work ethic problems or team analytics data.
Most everything I(or you) “know” or hear is filtered thru media personalities with sometimes questionable ethics and motives.
Ultimately, there’s no better way to acquire, gauge and implement information and data, than directly from the source.
Bravo!, mlb fan…….
Cranky
@mlb fan: All true–but it’s also true that the professionals can be wrong, or biased, or too close to something to see it clearly. And the Cubs’ obsessive secrecy about everything is not reassuring.
-.33 OPS this season. I’m not even mad- I’m impressed!
Now do the bullpen.
In other news, a nine-year-old Little Leaguer could tell Kyle Tucker that he’s consistently opening up too soon, but apparently none of the Cubs coaches can. Beyond that, it’s hard to hit with your nose that far up in the air.
You’ll notice that our new Village Idiot Alex Cohen has stopped saying dumb things like “King Tuck has been every bit as advertised…and more!” and there is a lot less talk about an extension from the press and the denizens of chat rooms.
It’s interesting how Brett Taylor and other dishonest pseudo-communicators are whitewashing Kyle Tucker’s failure to catch what would have been the last out of Monday night’s game. It was an entirely catchable ball that he misjudged and misplayed.
Maybe I’m old-fasioned, but I don’t think a guy who can’t hit and can’t field is worth a half billion dollars–or Cam Smith.
He hasn’t been super impressive in the OF, but the guy can certainly hit. A bit of a slump but coming back around. He will have strong numbers by the end of the year and has shown a lot of consistency in his career. Not saying he is worth half a billion, but he’s not “a guy who can’t hit.”
Breaking – The White Sox sign Nicky Lopez to a 5 year deal.