When the Cubs let Luis Vazquez go last week, I wondered if they would try to replace him at Triple-A with a veteran defensive-first middle-infielder, just to have a little extra depth. Sure enough, they are: per Jon Heyman and Jesse Rogers, the Cubs are signing former White Sox infielder Nicky Lopez to a minor league deal.
Outside of one monster (BABIP-fueled) season, Lopez is a glove-only, plus-defensive depth type:
Lopez, 29, can play anywhere on the infield, and historically has been very good at all spots (outside of a very down year by DRS at shortstop last year). He is the type of guy you are very happy to have at Triple-A juuuuuuust in case, but who you probably don’t want to guarantee a bench job at this point.
I suspect Lopez will have a chance to win a bench job in Spring Training, mind you, and he may have an opt-out in his deal if he doesn’t win that job. Ideally, though, he starts the season at Iowa, and is there in case of a serious injury issue. He wouldn’t necessarily kill you as a starter if necessary, but his good defensive value wouldn’t entirely make up for the 20+% below-average bat. And on a team that has Dansby Swanson at shortstop and Nico Hoerner at second base, it’s not like you’d need to keep Lopez on the bench as a late-inning defensive replacement.
That is all to say, you can expect Lopez to just be a depth guy at this point. But he’ll be there in Spring Training, competing alongside Gage Workman, Vidal Brujan, and Jon Berti to be the primary guy at third base if/when Matt Shaw isn’t quite ready.
