Cubs Infielder Elects to Become Free Agent After Clearing Waivers

After being designated for assignment on Monday and later clearing waivers, former Chicago Cubs infielder Nicky Lopez has elected to become a free agent rather than accepting a minor-league option to Triple-A Iowa.

Lopez signed with the Cubs in late April after he was designated for assignment by the Angels upon Zach Neto's return from the injured list.

The former fifth-round pick's calling card is his defense.

His .992 fielding percentage at second base, shortstop and third base is Gold Glove-caliber, and is the reason teams have continued to come calling even with his bat giving negative value to a Major League lineup.

Lopez, 30, has a career .621 OPS in 686 MLB contests.

His best offensive season came in 2021 with the Kansas City Royals, hitting .300/.365/.378 and finishing the season with an above-league-average 104 OPS+. He has hit .229 with a 66 OPS+ in his 376 games since.

Lopez was moved off the active roster to make room for rookie Matt Shaw to make his return to the active roster. The top prospect's first 18 big league games fell below expectations with a .172/.294/.241 slash line, but he has already shown signs of improvement with five hits in his first three games back with Chicago.

Lopez will now be able to sign with any team of his choosing, but his options may be limited given his poor hitting.

The Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers currently have members of their infield on the shelf, so he could be a stop gap option for those teams.

However, it seems more likely he catches on with a minor league contract given no team put in a claim.

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