Irving Lopez (born June 30, 1995) is a Mexican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

for the

Charros de Jalisco The Charros de Jalisco () are a professional baseball team who compete in both the Mexican League (LMB) and the Mexican Pacific League (LMP), based in Zapopan, Jalisco, in the Guadalajara metropolitan area. Their home ballpark is Estadio Pana ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

Early life

Lopez was born June 30, 1995, in

Hermosillo Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo municipality, the state's ...

, Mexico. He attended

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

Career

St. Louis Cardinals

Lopez was drafted by the

in the 19th round, with the 574th overall selection, of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...

. He spent his first professional season with the rookie-level

Johnson City Cardinals The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the Rookie League, Rookie-level Appalachian Leagu ...

, where he hit .287 in 50 games, and also played in one game for the Low-A

State College Spikes The State College Spikes are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in State College, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Medlar Field on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. The team was fo ...

. Lopez split the 2018 season between the Single-A

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Pe ...

and High-A

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roge ...

. In 110 total games, he hit a combined .280/.368/.395 with 6 home runs and 48 RBI. In 2019, he played for the Double-A

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They are members of the Texas League's North Division and serve as the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Springfield Cardinals began pl ...

and Triple-A

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbird ...

, appearing in 105 games and hitting .262/.340/.437 with a career–high 11 home runs and 35 RBI. Lopez did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He returned to action in 2021, playing in 80 games for Springfield and Memphis and slashing .233/.294/.341 with 3 home runs and 26 RBI. He again returned to Springfield and Memphis in 2022, playing in 63 games and hitting .296/.386/.396 with 2 home runs and 22 RBI. In 2023, Lopez played in 97 games split between Springfield and Memphis, batting a cumulative .260/.368/.420 with 9 home runs and 53 RBI. On September 22, 2023, Lopez was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. In 5 games for St. Louis, he went hitless in 11 at–bats, with one RBI. Following the season on October 26, Lopez was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Triple–A Memphis. He became a free agent following the season on November 6.

Pericos de Puebla

On June 14, 2024, Lopez signed with the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: Puebla Parrots) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Hermanos Serdán. Established in 1938, the Pericos have won five Mexican League ...

of the

. In 19 games for the Pericos, he slashed .211/.224/.298 with one home run and four RBI.

Charros de Jalisco

On February 4, 2025, Lopez was traded to the

Rieleros de Aguascalientes The Rieleros de Aguascalientes (English: Aguascalientes Railroaders) are a professional baseball team based in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes that competes in the Mexican League. Established in 1975, the Rieleros have won the Mexican League cha ...

in exchange for

Fabián Anguamea Jesus Fabián Anguamea (born December 21, 1993) is a Mexican professional baseball pitcher for El Águila de Veracruz of the Mexican League. He played for the Mexico national baseball team in the 2020 Summer Olympics. Career Diablos Rojos del Mé ...

. On April 8, Lopez was traded to the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Irving 1995 births Living people Sportspeople from Hermosillo Major League Baseball players from Mexico 21st-century Mexican sportsmen Major League Baseball infielders St. Louis Cardinals players FIU Panthers baseball players Eau Claire Express players Johnson City Cardinals players Memphis Redbirds players Naranjeros de Hermosillo players Palm Beach Cardinals players Peoria Chiefs players Pericos de Puebla players Springfield Cardinals players State College Spikes players Charros de Jalisco players