Veteran infielder Nicky Lopez triggered an opt-out clause in his minor league take care of the D-backs, experiences Robert Murray of FanSided. Groups usually have 48 hours to determine whether or not so as to add a participant to the 40-man roster or grant him his launch when the participant triggers an out clause, however Murray provides that Lopez will hit the open market, so it appears Arizona has already made up its thoughts.
The 30-year-old Lopez hit simply .267/.303/.317 via 109 turns on the plate in a supercharged offensive surroundings with Arizona’s Triple-A Reno affiliate. He continued exhibiting robust contact expertise, fanning in solely 8.3% of his plate appearances, however Lopez confirmed no actual energy and walked at solely a 4.6% clip. He went 1-for-24 in 19 video games between the Cubs and Angels earlier this yr whereas receiving sparse taking part in time as a glove-first possibility off the bench.
Lopez is a defensive-minded utility infielder who can deal with both center infield spot or third base. He’s made just a few transient cameos in left subject as nicely however has simply 17 main league innings on the place. Again in 2021, he posted an out-of-nowhere .300/.365/.378 batting line with 22 steals (in 23 tries) and plus-plus protection at shortstop. Baseball-Reference valued that season at 4.4 wins above alternative, and FanGraphs credited him with a good gaudier 5.5 WAR. Since that point, Lopez has confirmed 2021’s offensive output to be an outlier; he’s slashed solely .229/.300/.283 in 1215 subsequent plate appearances.
