The Cubs and veteran infielder Nicky Lopez agreed to a minor league contract over the weekend, as first indicated on the MiLB.com transaction log. Lopez opted out of a minor league deal with the Yankees last week and quickly returned for what’s now a third stint with the Cubs organization this season alone. Lopez was already back in the lineup with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate yesterday.
Lopez signed a minor league deal with Chicago back in February. He didn’t make the big league roster in camp and took an opt-out in his deal, after which he signed a major league pact with the Angels. That proved to be a short-lived stint, with Lopez lasting only five games before being cut loose. After clearing waivers, Lopez signed a major league deal with the Cubs and appeared in 14 games off the bench before being designated for assignment again. He’s since signed minor league deals with the D-backs and Yankees but opted out of both.
It’s been a dizzying season, transaction-wise, for the versatile Lopez. He’s signed contracts with four different organizations but tallied only 19 games and 28 plate appearances in the majors. Lopez has gone just 1-for-24 with four walks (and only three strikeouts) in that tiny sample of sparse playing time. His Triple-A work between the Cubs, D-backs and Yankees has (of course) been better than that — but still not great. In 42 games, he’s taken 178 turns at the plate and batted .259/.309/.315.
Lopez has rarely provided much help with the bat, however. He’s the consummate glove-first utility infielder. While he did post an out-of-the-blue .300/.365/.378 performance in 565 plate appearances with the 2021 Royals, Lopez has limped to a .229/.300/.283 big league batting line in parts of four subsequent seasons and carries a modest .245/.310/.311 line in 2374 plate appearances as a major leaguer.
Though he’s lacking at the plate, Lopez is a roughly average runner with a plus glove all around the infield. He’s spent more than 2300 innings at both middle infield positions and drawn high-end grades from Statcast at each position. Defensive Runs Saved isn’t as keen on his work at shortstop but grades him as an elite second baseman. Lopez hasn’t spent as much time at the hot corner (433 innings), but both Statcast’s Outs Above Average (9) and DRS (6) feel he’s been outstanding there.
The Cubs’ needs in the infield don’t look as pressing after Willi Castro was added at the deadline and now that top prospect Matt Shaw has caught fire (.328/.349/.770, seven homers in 63 plate appearances post-All-Star break). But Lopez offers some versatility and depth at multiple positions, and he could be an option to join the club when rosters expand to 28 in September, providing skipper Craig Counsell with some late-game options in terms of both pinch-running and defensive shuffling.
Look out Brewers!
LoL
This guy is like Herpes. You can never really get rid of him.
Jed’s just messing with us now.
Maybe Nicky Lopez can save the season as much as Neifi Perez saved the 2005 season.
If the bullpen doesn’t implode like the last two seasons, Nicky can come in when the rosters expand.
@Acoss: Remember, the rosters only expand from 26 to 28 nowadays. They add one pitcher and one position player. I hope and trust the latter will be a minor leaguer of more impact than Lopez.
Alan,
Right, I’m still stuck on the old days! Oh boy, let’s see who they call up. If it’s only one pitcher and one position player, then I would prefer to see Owen Caissie get a cup of coffee over Nicky.
The prodigal
On another topic: It’s not a joke question anymore: Is it possible that Tucker won’t hit another home run this season?
Those of us who have questioned whether he is as good as he was billed as being, though we have taken a lot of abuse from the jock sniffers among you, have been proven to be right. He is not a very good hitter. He walks a lot, which has some value, certainly, and thus he keeps his OBP and OPS at decent levels, and now and then he squares up a pitch and hits a fairly hard single to the outfield–I’m trying to be fair, here, and acknowledge the pluses–but he drives in very few runs and has almost no power. He almost never gets a “big hit” that turns a game around or wins one. There are players you never heard of on the Brewers who are succeeding literally every day in ways he never succeeds.
As to the eye test, he stands flat-footed at the plate and seem not to be able to “plant” properly; he looks like he is trying to do it all with his arms. (Might there be a leg injury that has not been reported?)
Whatever the reasons, he has had one home run in the last six weeks. If he had hit even three or four more, the Cubs probably would have won a couple more games and been in much better shape as far as making the postseason is concerned. It is not an exaggeration or a cheap shot to say that if the Cubs don’t make the playoffs, it will be Tucker’s fault.
Unless he does much better the rest of the way. Do you think he will? Do you think he will hit another homer before the season ends?
Tucker is going be fine..do i think he is in the caliber of players like judge or ohtani of course not..but he still is a very good player…he is slumping some but not unusal for even real good players to hit the rocks now and then its a long season..he will turn it around…as for the brewers imo they have great pitchers..but i think the offense is preforming above the talent right now a regression is likely..they have a couple good hitters but the rest of the lineup is meh at best
Something very telling happened in the first inning of the game on Saturday. And if I caught it, I’m sure every scout in baseball saw it.
When Tucker stole second base he slid in feet first. Without a doubt he is playing with a fairly damaged finger—and he hurt it, oh about two month s ago sliding head and hands first into second base. He clearly has been nursing it since and it has affected, if nothing else, his power and ability to grip the bat.
Also, didn’t have a bad throw home the other night but didn’t seem like he could uncork it—-it is his right hand that is injured.
And yes—he did did slide into home plate on the loose ball just after, but that play was in front of him the whole time and he had an open lane to the plate and only needed to extend the left arm.
Alan—to your leg injury thing—I was in the bleachers in the last game against the Orioles and he does a very large amount of stretching between pitches in the outfield—like he is really tight. I don’t think he has a leg issue but I did notice that.