Otto Lopez’s path from DFA to All-Star is the kind of turn that can make a front office wince.
The former Blue Jay, who barely got a chance in Toronto before being designated for assignment to clear space for Yariel Rodriguez, is now one of the biggest breakout stories in baseball with the Marlins. Through the first half of the season, Lopez has led all of MLB in batting average and earned an All-Star nod, a rise that lands especially hard for Blue Jays fans watching a lineup that has struggled all year.
Toronto’s offense has been part of the problem from the start. The club sits 25th in wRC+ at 92 and 27th in runs with 366, a slide that has helped drag the team from championship contention to well below .500.
There’s plenty of blame to go around, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at .689 OPS and George Springer at a 93 wRC+, but the front office isn’t off the hook either. The missed chances on Bo Bichette, who has a .303 OBP, and Kyle Tucker, who is hitting .248, only add to the frustration.
Lopez is the one that stings in a different way. Toronto let him go in January of 2024, and the move now looks even rougher because Rodriguez, the player he was moved aside for, was recently DFA’d himself. What was once a quiet roster decision has turned into a reminder of how quickly a player can find his footing somewhere else.
And Lopez has done more than just find his footing. He’s hitting .343/.374/.515 with a 141 wRC+, along with nine homers and 17 steals. That’s not just a hot streak; it’s a full-on breakout, and it’s come with the kind of middle-infield defense that makes the offensive leap even more valuable.
For Blue Jays fans who remember his climb through the system, the story carries extra bite. Lopez spent years moving through the minor leagues as a teenager, piling up huge contact rates and plenty of steals, but the power never quite arrived. He couldn’t get past the Triple-A hurdle in Toronto, and after seven years with the organization, the team moved on.
Now he’s the exact type of hitter the Blue Jays could use near the top of the order. The power surge may have been hard to forecast, but the foundation was always there. Even with a walk rate below 5%, Lopez has found a way to make his elite bat-to-ball skills matter at the highest level.
At the time, Toronto’s middle-infield depth chart made the decision easier to justify. Bichette, Clement, and Spencer Horwitz were all in the way, leaving Lopez without a clear path to playing time. But in Miami, the change of scenery has turned into a success story, and the Blue Jays are the team left looking back at it with regret.
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