Felipe Lopez and the Rays officially agreed to a minor-league contract today. He’ll get an invitation to spring training and compete for a bench job, but because it’s not a major-league deal the Red Sox won’t receive a compensatory draft pick for letting him go.
Boston signed Lopez as a free agent in late September, bought out the 2011 option on his contract for $15,000, and then offered him arbitration knowing he would decline. And it almost got them a “free” draft pick between the first and second rounds, except the market for Lopez was incredibly weak after he wore out his welcome with Tony La Russa and the Cardinals last year.
Lopez is just a season removed from hitting .310 with an .810 OPS, so it’s a nice low-cost flier for the Rays.
