Naperville’s finest may not be on the White Sox for much longer. According to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, the team placed veteran infielder Nicky Lopez on waivers. It remains to be seen if any team will claim him, but he is now there for the taking if a contender wants him.
Acquired in the Aaron Bummer trade last offseason, the 29-year-old Lopez has generally performed as advertised this season. He has never been known for his hitting, and that trend has continued this year. He has just a .593 OPS on the season with zero home runs. His slugging percentage is also lower than his on-base percentage, meaning he has virtually no power. He has just 15 extra-base hits all season in 391 plate appearances.
However, hitting is not why Lopez has carved out a long MLB career. His defense has always been his calling card. And his work with the glove is still top-notch. Lopez ranks in the 89th percentile in outs above average and the 77th percentile in fielding run value per Baseball Savant. While his arm strength is not great, he has been one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball for several years. Lopez is also in the 93rd percentile in baserunning run value, rarely strikes out, and can also play shortstop. He provides some skills despite not being much of a threat with the bat. Lopez could be an option for contending teams looking for cheap infield bench depth down the stretch.
From the perspective of the White Sox, potentially parting ways with Lopez makes sense. His $4.3 million salary for 2024 was already expensive for what he brings to the table. He is also arbitration-eligible this coming offseason. Given where the team is at, it does not make sense for the White Sox to spend what will likely be around $5 million on a glove-first infielder nearing 30 years old. The team will likely non-tender Lopez this winter if no one claims him now.
Exposing Lopez to waivers and potentially losing him also opens the door for a younger player to get his playing time on the MLB roster. The White Sox have several young infielders at or near the MLB level who need reps moving forward. Miguel Vargas, Brooks Baldwin, Lenyn Sosa, Bryan Ramos, and maybe even Colson Montgomery should all see time in Chicago down the stretch this year. Getting rid of Lopez would pave the way for younger players to get more MLB at-bats as the team looks forward to 2025.
Whether he gets claimed or not, Nicky Lopez did not make much of an impact on the White Sox. He is a light-hitting infielder on what will likely be the worst team ever. But he showed up every day, gave it his best, and has also been a positive in the community. It would be in his best interests to get claimed, as it would allow him to finish the season on a team competing for something instead of continuing to rot away in Chicago.
