The Athletics have agreed to phrases with infielder Alejo Lopez on a minor league contract, Lopez himself introduced on Instagram. The previous Reds infielder will presumably head to spring coaching as a non-roster invitee.
Lopez, 28, has spent components of three seasons within the massive leagues, all coming with Cincinnati. He’s a .265/.309/.329 hitter in 181 main league plate appearances, displaying little energy however a wonderful really feel for contact. Lopez has fanned in solely 14.9% of these journeys to the plate (in opposition to a lackluster 5% stroll price) and has constantly posted even decrease strikeout charges within the higher minors. In components of 4 Triple-A campaigns, he’s a .294/.387/.407 hitter with practically as many walks (11.7%) as strikeouts (12.1%) in simply over 1500 plate appearances.
Defensively, Lopez has performed all around the diamond, although the overwhelming majority of his time has been break up between second base (3260 innings) and third base (2023 innings). He’s logged 653 innings at shortstop and a mixed 715 frames between the 2 outfield corners.
The A’s don’t have a set third baseman and will have a number of bench spots up for grabs in spring coaching, relying on how their offseason performs out. The switch-hitting Lopez will give them some depth all around the infield and will nab a reserve function if he reveals properly in camp. He’s coming off a pleasant 12 months with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, whereby he slashed .307/.392/.397 with 4 homers, 21 doubles, a pair of triples and 21 stolen bases in 112 video games (473 plate appearances).