Brewers Acquire Felipe Lopez From Diamondbacks

After splitting a four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds to open up the second half of the season, Doug Melvin and the Milwaukee Brewers made a splash in the National League Central race as they traded for second baseman Felipe Lopez from the Diamondbacks. Lopez, 29, will be placed in the leadoff spot in the batting order right away to give the Brewers an outstanding bat at the top of the order. With a batting average of .301 and an on-base percentage of .364, the move will allow Jason Kendall to move back down to the eight spot in the batting order. Corey Hart, who also saw at-bats in the leadoff spot, will move back down to the six or seven spot, which should give more consistency to the lineup. Hart batted .250 in the nine games he led off. Kendall was batting .242 in that spot and Craig Counsell hit .267 batting first. Lopez will give the Brewers an everyday player that can lead off and get on for sluggers Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. Another plus in the trade is that u...