A former White Sox infielder is heading to the North Side.
According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, Nicky Lopez has signed a deal with the Chicago Cubs. The agreement is a minor league contract, ESPN’s Jesse Rogers later followed up.
Lopez, who turns 30 in March, was one of five players traded to the White Sox in exchange for reliever Aaron Bummer last November. Never known for his bat, the Naperville hit .241/.312/.294 with a 77 wRC+ and 0.9 fWAR in 445 plate appearances this season. As in the past, Lopez made up for that lack of production in the field.
The Naperville native was named a Gold Glove Award finalist for AL second baseman last month. In 640.1 innings at the position, Lopez logged a .989 fielding percentage, -1 defensive runs saved, four outs above average, and a 1.4 on the SABR Defensive Index. These stats didn’t stack up favorably for Lopez, as Cleveland’s Andres Giménez ultimately took home the hardware.
The last White Sox second baseman to win a Gold Glove Award was Yolmer Sanchez back in 2019. Funny enough, the fan-favorite was outrighted shortly after when the White Sox did not offer him the $6.2 million he was projected in his final year of arbitration. Lopez was estimated to earn $5.1 million in arbitration this year, which was always unlikely to be matched with the team looking to cut payroll and already having infield options in both Brooks Baldwin and Lenyn Sosa.
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