Pair of former KC Royals are looking for new jobs already in 2025

The Kansas City Royals were active on the transaction wire over the weekend—but they weren’t alone. This point in the season often serves as a pivot for MLB teams: early slumps start to look like full-on struggles, and those "day-to-day" injuries begin to pile up, as Royals fans have seen firsthand. Unfortunately, for a pair of former Kansas City utility players, it was the former situation that led to their exits from new clubs.

Some former KC Royals remind fans of how transactional baseball should be

On Monday, the Arizona Diamondbacks announced they had released Garrett Hampson, just a week after designating him for assignment. That same day, the Chicago Cubs designated Nicky Lopez for assignment as part of their move to promote top prospect Matt Shaw to the big-league roster.

Neither player had made much of a mark with their new teams in 2025. Hampson logged just 41 plate appearances for Arizona, slashing .167/.359/.167 with a 71 wRC+. While his plate discipline was a mild bright spot, he brought little in the way of offensive production. Still, considering he joined the D-backs on a minor-league deal this past offseason, Hampson had already exceeded expectations just by making the roster. His speed and defensive versatility still hold value, but the club opted to move in a different direction.

Lopez's stint in Chicago was even shorter and more forgettable. Used almost exclusively as a late-game defensive replacement, he appeared in 19 games but managed only 28 plate appearances. His .042/.179/.042 slash line speaks for itself—a severe offensive downturn, even by his modest standards with Kansas City.

After signing a minor-league deal with the Cubs over the winter, Lopez opted out late in camp and landed a major-league deal with the Angels. That stint lasted less than a month, and by mid-April, he was back with the Cubs, ironically rejoining the club shortly after Shaw was demoted to Triple-A. Now, with Shaw returning, Lopez finds himself on the outside looking in once again.

Neither team are going to be a franchise savior at this point of their careers, but both are great examples of how positional versatility and flashing the leather can keep a player employed. as injuries spring up around the league or teams want a reliable substitute off the bench in the summer months, Hampson and Lopez could find themselves back in The Show.

Both were relatively recent fixtures in Kansas City for those exact reasons, though their offensive limitations ultimately pushed them out of the Royals’ plans. To be clear, a reunion in Kansas City feels unlikely—the team already has internal options better suited for those roles in 2025. But that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of either player.