Despite the ink barely being dry on their minor league deal with former Kansas City Royals pitcher Brad Keller, the Chicago Cubs have reportedly signed another ex-Royal standout. According to late February 2 reports, infielder Nicky Lopez will reunite with Keller — with whom he shared parts of five KC seasons — on a minor league contract.
The Cubs' organization will be the third for Lopez, who broke in with the Royals in 2019, was swapped to the Atlanta Braves for reliever Taylor Hearn at the 2023 trade deadline, and spent last season with the Chicago White Sox.
Whether Lopez's deal includes an invitation to big league spring training — which is just around the corner — isn't clear, but it's a safe bet he'll be working with the major leaguers.
Still, a starting spot in the Cubs' infield probably isn't in the cards.
Nicky Lopez starred for the KC Royals in 2021
There was a time during Lopez's six-season career that he seemed more than capable of holding down an everyday major league job. That was in 2021, when a late spring training injury forced Adalberto Mondesi to the Opening Day Injured List and pressed Lopez — who was, at the time, destined for Triple-A Omah — into emergency service at shortstop.
Lopez, a capable and versatile infielder who'd hit .240 as a rookie but only .201 during the short 2020 campaign, blossomed and became a star in his new role. Capping a surprisingly good season at the plate, he became the first Royals shortstop to hit .300 when he bumped his average to that level with a third-inning single off the Minnesota Twins' Charlie Barnes in the season's final game.
And he played excellent defense. Although he missed the Gold Glove nomination he seemed to deserve, Lopez's .998 fielding percentage was the best among American League shortstops and no qualified AL shortstop made fewer errors.
Things changed for Nicky Lopez in 2022 and 2023
Despite his spectacular 2021 effort, a long-term starting role wasn't to be. Bobby Witt Jr. displaced him at shortstop to begin the 2022 season and, while Lopez moved around the infield, his lack of power and production (he didn't homer and drove in only 20 runs in 141 games) signaled he'd soon give way at second base to Michael Massey, who ended up playing 48 games at the keystone and taking the position essentially for his own in 2023. Maikel Garcia's emergence at third base made things even tougher for Lopez.
Hence the 2023 trade deadline deal with Atlanta that worked a dramatic change of scenery and fortune for Lopez. On a winner for the first time in his major league career, he hit .277 for the Braves and made it into the National League Division Series before the Philadelphia Phillies eliminated his new club.
Lopez moved to the White Sox via free agency last season and regularly played second base until late in Chicago's season. He batted .241, seven points less than his career average, but probably saw some grim writing on the wall when the Sox tried to outright him to the minors after the season. He chose free agency instead.
A utility job is probably the best Nicky Lopez can do with the Cubs
Even if he makes it back to the majors for Opening Day, Lopez's days as a full-time big league starter are almost assuredly over. Chicago already boasts All-Star Gold Glover Dansby Swanson at short, and third base likely belongs to Vidal Bruján. Chicago could look at Lopez as an early-season fill-in for second baseman Nico Hoerner, who's recovering from offseason surgery, but such a move would be only temporary.
Still, don't count Lopez out of a spot on the bench when the Cubs open their season on March 18 in Tokyo against the Los Angeles Dodgers.