The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed veteran infielder Nicky Lopez to a minor league contract. He will provide depth in Triple-A Reno, filling in the roster spot vacated by Ildemaro Vargas, who recently opted out of his minor league deal.
Lopez was drafted as a shortstop in the fifth round by the Kansas City Royals in the 2016 amaetur draft. Born in Naperville IL, he attended Creighton University.
The infielder made his major league debut in 2019, and broke out in 2021 batting .301/.365/.378, .744 OPS, good for a 104 OPS+. Lopez did all the little things right that year too, registering +5 fielding runs and +7 base running runs, including 22 for 23 in stolen base attempts. He was a 4.4 WAR player that according to Baseball-Reference.
Unfortunately he’s never come close to that performance since, tallying just 1.3 WAR in his other six seasons. For his career he’s hit .245/.310/.311, .621 OPS in 2,374 plate appearances. He is a contact hitter, who has struck out just 14.3% of his plate appearances, but has only seven career homers.
Traded to the Chicago White Sox prior to the 2024, he was part of a dismal, record setting 121 loss season. He played more second base than shortstop last year, and for good reason, as he registered -9 fielding runs in just 39 games at the position. Lopez was signed and released by both the Angels and Cubs so far this season.
For his career Lopez has been a +7 defender at second base and +6 at third base, but -11 at shortstop. With the middle infield thinned out in Reno by Jordan Lawlar’s promotion and Vargas’ departure, Lopez will get plenty of opportunity to play in the Pacific Coast league and try to work his way back to the major leagues.
That will only come with Arizona if there are multiple injuries however. The next man up on the depth chart should be Blaze Alexander, who is hitting .250 with an .802 OPS for Reno. He’s played shortstop, thirdbase, and centerfield.