Lopez went 8-for-16 across four games for Italy during group-stage play at the World Baseball Classic.
It's a great showing for the light-hitting infielder, who also had seven RBI and a stolen base in those games. Lopez struggled at the dish in Cactus League play prior to the international competition, going 0-for-6 with two walks and two strikeouts across three games with the Royals. Lopez's best path to playing time is likely at second base, where he could challenge second-year infielder Michael Massey for a starting role. Lopez is also versatile enough to see time at third base and shortstop, so while he might lack an everyday role, he could push for playing time by carrying over his strong hitting from the WBC into the regular season.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Avoids arbitration
Rotowire
Lopez signed a one-year, $3.7 million contract with the Royals on Friday to avoid arbitration, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
A case could have been made for Lopez to be a non-tender candidate after he had one of the worst seasons at the plate as a regular in recent memory with a .227/.281/.273 batting line in 2022. However, he's still excellent defensively and the Royals will hope he can regain his form from 2021 when he slashed .300/.365/.378. Lopez is slated to compete with Michael Massey for playing time at second base and offers depth at third behind the perpetually injured Adalberto Mondesi (knee).
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Misses third straight
Rotowire
Lopez isn't in the starting lineup Tuesday against Minnesota, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.
Lopez has now missed three consecutive starts in the Royals' infield, sitting each time in favor of rookie Nate Eaton. He appears to have lost hold of his everyday role to Eaton, who will start the game at third base and bat ninth.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Takes seat Saturday
Rotowire
Lopez isn't starting Saturday against the Red Sox.
Lopez went 0-for-6 with a strikeout over the last two matchups and will head to the bench for the third time in the last six games. Bobby Witt is starting at shortstop and batting second.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Sits Wednesday
Rotowire
Lopez isn't in the lineup Wednesday against the Twins.
Lopez went 0-for-2 during Tuesday's loss to Minnesota and will be out of the lineup for the second time in the last three games. Bobby Witt is taking over at shortstop and batting second.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Left out of Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Lopez is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers.
Lopez singled in a run in Saturday's game, but that was the only hit he recorded over his last four games, so manager Mike Matheny decided to hold him out Sunday.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Out of Tuesday's lineup
Rotowire
Lopez is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Guardians.
Lopez is hitting .290 with a double, a triple and a stolen base in 31 at-bats over his last 10 games. He has started seven of the last 10 games.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Steals 13th base
Rotowire
Lopez went 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and an RBI in a 3-2 win Sunday in Detroit.
Lopez had an RBI single in the fourth, singled and stole second in the sixth and walked in the eighth. It was just the second time he reached base safely three times in a game since July 7. He is now 13-for-16 in stolen base attempts on the season and has six steals since the beginning of August.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Out of lineup
Rotowire
Lopez will sit Friday against the Tigers.
Lopez owns a poor .571 OPS since the start of August, though that's barely a downgrade from the .584 OPS he posted through the end of July. He continues to start regularly thanks to his glove, but it will be Bobby Witt who slides to shortstop Friday, with Hunter Dozier entering the lineup at third base.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Riding pine Saturday
Rotowire
Lopez isn't starting Saturday against the Padres, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.
Lopez will get a day off after he went 4-for-14 with a triple, a double, five runs, an RBI, two walks and two strikeouts over the last five games. Bobby Witt will shift to shortstop while Kyle Isbel enters the lineup in right field.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: On bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Lopez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.
Maikel Garcia will crack the lineup at shortstop while Lopez rests for the day game after a night game. Lopez's day off comes after he went 4-for-10 with a run scored while starting in each of the Royals' past three contests.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Out of lineup
Rotowire
Lopez will sit Saturday against the Dodgers.
Lopez sits after starting five straight games, a stretch in which he went 3-for-18 at the plate. Bobby Witt shifts to shortstop Saturday as Hunter Dozier starts at third base.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Ends RBI drought
Rotowire
Lopez went 1-for-4 with a two-run single, a stolen base and a run scored in Thursday's 5-3 win over the White Sox.
Lopez hadn't driven in a run since July 15 entering Thursday's contest. He changed that with a two-run single in the seventh inning before stealing second and scoring on an MJ Melendez single. Since the All-Star break, Lopez is hitting .271 (16-for-59) with six stolen bases and nine runs scored, but he has only one extra-base hit in that span. The light-hitting infielder continues to find playing time as a versatile defender, but he's put up a meager .246/.301/.290 slash line with 12 steals, 15 RBI and 40 runs scored through 106 games this season.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Adds 11th steal
Rotowire
Lopez went 1-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored in Saturday's 5-4 win over the Red Sox.
Lopez has seen some increased freedom to run in August -- he's already recorded four steals in six games this month after logging just two thefts in all of July. He's gone 5-for-17 (.294) in August, putting his season slash line at .247/.305/.294 with 11 steals, 13 RBI, 39 runs scored, 11 doubles and two triples through 102 contests. Lopez should continue seeing steady playing time in the middle infield and occasionally at third base as one of the more veteran infielders on the Royals' young roster.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: On base thrice, swipes two bags
Rotowire
Lopez went 1-for-2 with two walks, two runs and two stolen bases in a 7-3 victory over Boston on Thursday.
Lopez singled and stole second in second inning, walked, stole second and scored in the fifth and walked and scored in the seventh in recording his first game with multiple walks since April 28. The pair of thefts gives Lopez three in four contests to open August, as the 27-year-old has posted a 4-for-11 line with four walks in the stretch. He's slashing .249/.308/.297 with 38 runs, 13 RBI and 10 stolen bases without a home run through 100 games.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Adds eighth steal
Rotowire
Lopez went 2-for-3 with a stolen base in Monday's 2-1 win over the White Sox.
Lopez was the only Royal with multiple hits in the contest, and he added a steal in the seventh inning. He's gone 4-for-20 (.200) over his last eight games, which isn't doing much to earn him more playing time. Maikel Garcia is hitting .316 in the majors this year and appears to have taken over as the starting shortstop with Bobby Witt (hand) sidelined. That's left Lopez to compete with Hunter Dozier for time at third base. For the season, Lopez has a mediocre .248/.300/.297 slash line with eight steals, 13 RBI, 35 runs scored, 11 doubles and two triples. He'll likely be in the lineup mostly against right-handed pitchers.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Sitting against lefty
Rotowire
Lopez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees.
With southpaw Jordan Montgomery on the bump for the Yankees, the lefty-hitting Lopez will retreat to the bench for the second time in the series. Hunter Dozier will pick up the start at third base in Lopez's stead.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Sitting Thursday
Rotowire
Lopez is not in the starting lineup Thursday against the Yankees.
Lopez will get a breather after he went 0-for-9 with a walk and three strikeouts over the series against the Angels. Hunter Dozier will take over at third base while Ryan O'Hearn enters the lineup in right field and bats fifth versus New York.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Day off Sunday
Rotowire
Lopez is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale versus the Rays.
Lopez will get a day off after he went 4-for-8 with two runs scored and a stolen base in the first two games of the series. Emmanuel Rivera will take over at the hot corner and bat seventh against Tampa Bay.
... See More... See Less
Royals' Nicky Lopez: Logs steal in Friday's loss
Rotowire
Lopez went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Friday's 7-3 loss to the Rays.
Lopez has hit .364 (8-for-22) during a six-game hitting streak, and he's picked up a pair of stolen bases in that span. The light-hitting infielder is up to a .244/.296/.290 slash line with seven steals, 13 RBI, 32 runs scored, 11 doubles and a triple through 87 contests. Even with more consistency at the plate, Lopez's lack of power makes it likely his contributions are limited to speed and a fairly empty average.
