According to Jon Heyman and Jesse Rogers, the Cubs have signed former Royals and White Sox infielder Nicky Lopez to a minor league deal. While it’s not a flashy move, Lopez provides defensive versatility in case of an injury. Since they already filled a bench role in Chicago with Jon Berti, Lopez will likely serve in a role similar to Miles Mastrobuoni or David Bote. Having depth at Triple-A is never a bad thing.
Lopez appeared in 124 games for the White Sox last season with a 77 wRC+ and 0.9 fWAR while playing second base and shortstop. He has also played some third base with very limited action at first base and left field. His career 14.3% strikeout rate is his best offensive trait, as he has a .248 career average with virtually no power. Since he debuted in 2019, Lopez’s .067 ISO ranks 363rd out of 364 qualified hitters and is three points lower than Nick Madrigal‘s career mark.
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The newest addition to the Cubs organization had a breakout season in 2021 with a 100 wRC+ and 5.5 fWAR for the Royals. Though he’s only accumulated 2.7 fWAR in his five other MLB seasons, averaging one incremental win per year while producing about 30% worse than the average hitter tells you something about his glove.
Ed. note: This move fulfills the Cubs’ contractual obligation to carry players named Kyle, Cody, and Nick(y).
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