The Royals signed infielder Alejo Lopez to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Omaha. He backfills the organizational infield depth, as the Royals called up Andrew Velazquez when they placed Bobby Witt Jr. on the injured list this morning.
Lopez had been playing in Triple-A in the Seattle system this year. He was released a couple days ago despite a solid .302/.379/.419 showing across 146 plate appearances. Lopez walked more often than he struck out, but he doesn’t hit for any power or steal many bases. The switch-hitting infielder has a lifetime .289/.381/.395 slash line over parts of six Triple-A seasons. He has bounced between the Braves, A’s and Seattle systems over the past couple years without getting to the majors.
The 30-year-old Lopez did play parts of three seasons at the MLB level with the Reds from 2021-23. He’s a career .265/.309/.329 hitter in 74 big league contests. Lopez is stretched at shortstop but can handle either second or third base. The Royals have also been without Maikel Garcia for the last month, which pushed Josh Rojas to the MLB level. Lopez joins Abraham Toro and Brandon Drury among the depth infielders in Omaha.
