In the late afternoon, just a couple of hours after the news of Mike Clevinger’s domestic violence allegations came out, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal tweeted that the White Sox are interested in trading for local product and second baseman Nicky Lopez.
Lopez is currently 27 years old and will be 28 by the time Opening Day rolls around. He is a left-handed bat who is a defense-first player. His career year was in 2021 when he posted an OPS of .744 and an fWAR of 5.9. However, his offense saw a dramatic drop off this past season. Lopez’s OPS fell to .554 and his wRC+ fell to 48 points below league average. However, Lopez still managed to put up a positive WAR season (1.2 fWAR) in 2022, due completely to his defense. For his career with the Royals, Lopez has a slash line of .252/.309/.321 and a .630 OPS.
White Sox fans should recognize Lopez’s name, as he has spent the last four seasons with the Royals. As mentioned earlier Lopez is a local product, as he hails from Naperville, IL. Lopez also has ties to current White Sox coaches Pedro Grifol, Mike Tosar, and Eddie Rodriguez from their time together in Kansas City.
If the White Sox were to trade for Lopez, he is sure to join a second base mix that features Leury Garcia, Romy Gonzalez, Lenyn Sosa, and Hanser Alberto. Despite the Sox reportedly showing interest, Rosenthal was quick to mention that the Royals are not in any hurry to move the second baseman. They are probably less likely to move him to a division rival unless the right offer is presented. It is not clear what exactly would be involved in this sort of trade, though it is rumored that Kansas City would be looking for pitching and/or some sort of utility player in return.
As more information becomes available, we will continue to provide updates.
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