The Royals have added another layer to their infield mix, signing Alejo Lopez to a minor league contract and sending him to Triple-A Omaha.
The move comes with Kansas City needing extra coverage after calling up Andrew Velazquez this morning when Bobby Witt Jr. landed on the injured list. Lopez gives the organization another option on the dirt, and he’ll join Abraham Toro and Brandon Drury among the depth infielders in Omaha.
Lopez had been in Triple-A with Seattle earlier this year before his release a couple days ago. He was productive there, putting together a .302/.379/.419 line over 146 plate appearances. He drew walks at a better clip than he struck out, though his game has never been built around power or speed.
The switch-hitting infielder owns a .289/.381/.395 slash line across parts of six Triple-A seasons. Over the past couple years, he has moved through the Braves, A’s and Seattle systems without getting back to the majors.
The 30-year-old does have big league experience, appearing in parts of three seasons with the Reds from 2021-23. In 74 MLB games, he has hit .265/.309/.329. Lopez is stretched at shortstop, but he can handle either second or third base.
Kansas City’s infield depth has already been tested with Maikel Garcia out for the last month, which pushed Josh Rojas to the MLB level. Lopez is the latest name added to help stabilize the group behind the big league roster.
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