CHICAGO -- Nicky Lopez was at home in Arizona with his wife on Tuesday night, watching the Cubs¡¯ wild comeback win over the Dodgers. One day later, he was wearing a Cubs uniform and standing in front of his new locker inside Wrigley Field.
¡°I¡¯m so happy to be here,¡± Lopez said on Wednesday. ¡°It¡¯s been a dream of mine to be in this clubhouse.¡±
Lopez was signed to a one-year, Major League contract as part of a series of transactions by the Cubs ahead of Wednesday¡¯s game against the Dodgers. Chicago designated rookie Gage Workman for assignment and transferred lefty Justin Steele to the 60-day injured list to open an additional 40-man roster spot.
The Cubs also officially selected the contract of veteran lefty Drew Pomeranz and optioned righty Gavin Hollowell to Triple-A Iowa in the latest bullpen shuffle.
The arrival of Lopez, however, was notable in that it represented the Cubs¡¯ latest attempt to shore up the situation at third base. Heading into play on Wednesday, Chicago¡¯s third basemen had combined for a 50 wRC+ with a .200 slugging percentage (30th in MLB) and .486 OPS (27th in MLB).
The North Siders began the season with Matt Shaw -- MLB Pipeline¡¯s top Cubs prospect and No. 18 overall -- as the starter at third, but his struggles (.535 OPS in 18 games) led to him being sent back to Triple-A Iowa last week. That created a situation where manager Craig Counsell has needed to cycle a variety of players through the position.
That approach will continue for now, but the Cubs have swapped out Workman for Lopez, who has a strong defensive reputation and seven years of MLB experience.
¡°It doesn't change the nature of third base here,¡± Counsell said. ¡°We¡¯re going to have a different player at that position kind of game to game. And I think you¡¯ve seen, we¡¯re going to platoon, essentially. Defense, that¡¯s one of Nicky¡¯s strengths as well. You¡¯re going to see multiple third basemen, I think, in the game on a day-to-day basis. And I think Nicky fits and is kind of able to execute that profile.¡±
Counsell said the decision surrounding Workman was ¡°best for the team¡± right now, given the Cubs¡¯ push for playoff contention.
The 25-year-old Workman had not played above the Double-A level in the Tigers¡¯ system before the Cubs took a chance on him in the Rule 5 Draft. He posted a .552 OPS in nine games, made a series of costly defensive mistakes and looked in need of further development. Workman will be exposed to waivers and, if he clears, Chicago must offer him back to Detroit.
Going forward, Counsell will lean on a rotation of Jon Berti, Vidal Bruj¨¢n, Justin Turner and Lopez at the hot corner.
¡°The goal still is to get Matt Shaw back and playing that position,¡± Counsell said. ¡°But we need some time for that. So, we¡¯ll kind of let that play out. The short term is, these are our guys. I think intermediate, we¡¯re hoping Matt Shaw turns into that guy.¡±
Lopez, 30, was in camp with the Cubs on a Minor League deal and made a strong impression, hitting .450 (9-for-20) in his nine Cactus League games. When the time came to set the roster for the trip to Japan for the Tokyo Series, Lopez did not make the cut for the bench. He was released, signed a deal with the Angels and was again designated for assignment on Sunday.
Lopez said it was an easy decision to accept the Cubs¡¯ offer to return when the team called on Tuesday.
¡°I¡¯ve watched a lot of Cubs games during the year so far,¡± Lopez said. ¡°For them to be able to do what they¡¯re doing has been really, really special to see, especially just because of sharing the locker room in Spring Training and kind of gaining a relationship with all these guys.
¡°And then watching them -- you saw all the work they were putting in in Spring Training. It doesn¡¯t surprise me that they're taking care of business. Just to be able to get that call yesterday, ¡®Hey, we have a spot open for you, would you like it?¡¯ I¡¯m like, ¡®It¡¯d be stupid not to accept it.¡¯¡±