Christian

Lopes

Lopes signed a minor league contract with Oakland back in March and wound up getting into 10 contests this season for the Athletics. The 29-year-old infielder was hitting .257/.347/.374 with two homers and four steals in 216 plate appearances for Triple-A Las Vegas.

With Chad Pinder returning from the COVID-19 injured list, Lopes was no longer needed for depth purposes. The 29-year-old went 0-for-9 with five strikeouts and a walk in 10 plate appearances during his time with the big league club.

Lopes, 29, will give the team some infield depth as they deal with a coronavirus outbreak. He will be making his major league debut when he gets into a game.

Thames struggled at the dish in 11 Cactus League contests and won’t open the 2022 campaign as the Athletics’ primary first baseman. Neither will Dalton Kelly, who was also included among the latest cuts. There aren’t any other real surprises here as Oakland prepares to finalize its Opening Day roster.

Lopes spent the 2021 season at Triple-A Reno in the Diamondbacks’ organization, hitting .271/.384/.497 with nine homers and four steals across 219 plate appearances. The 29-year-old minor-league journeyman offers some multi-positional versatility and will give the Athletics some organizational infield depth this upcoming season.

This is nothing to see here. Just typical spring training procedure of clearing space and playing time for players with a more realistic opportunity to make the club.

Lopes was signed by the Marlins to a minor league contract in 2020, and didn’t play beyond Spring Training. He’s likely ticketed for Triple-A Reno to begin 2021.

Lopes, 27, is trying to make the Marlins as a non-roster player after hitting .265/.366/.422 in the Rangers system last year. He’s a natural second baseman, but he’s increased his versatility in recent years, making him a reasonable option as a 26th man. The Marlins probably won’t carry him initially, but he’s a viable fallback.

Lopes, 27, spent last the last two seasons in the Rangers’ minor league system and hit .265 with a .787 OPS along with 13 homers and 14 steals while splitting time at Double-A and Triple-A. He’ll provide infield depth for the Marlins in 2020, with an outside chance of reaching the majors for the first time in his seven-year professional career.

Lopes was in camp as a non-roster invitee. He batted .261/.365/.408 with 12 homers last season at the Triple-A level and is headed back there to start 2019.