Nicholas Lopez (born March 13, 1995) is an American 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 ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

and

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

in the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

organization. He was drafted by the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB draft, and made his MLB debut with them in 2019. He has also 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

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

, and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Amateur career

Lopez attended

Naperville Central High School Naperville Central High School (Naperville Central or NCHS) is a four-year state school, public high school located in Naperville, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. The school, which enrolls students in grades nine through twelve, is a par ...

Naperville, Illinois Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 United State ...

. In 2013, as a senior, he batted .398. Naperville Central High School inducted Lopez into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, January 26, 2024. After high school, he enrolled and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

. In 2016, his junior season, he hit .306 with two home runs and 22 RBIs in 55 games. After the season, he was drafted by the

in the fifth round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

Professional career

Kansas City Royals

Lopez made his professional debut with the

Burlington Royals The Burlington Royals were a minor league baseball team in Burlington, North Carolina, United States. They were a Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with the Cleveland Indians from 1986 to 2006 as the Burlington ...

and spent the whole 2016 season there, posting a .281 batting average with six home runs, 29 RBIs and 24 stolen bases in 62 games. In 2017, he spent time with both the

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. Fra ...

and the

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. T ...

, batting a combined .279 with two home runs, 38 RBIs, 24 stolen bases and a .704 OPS in 129 games. After the season, the Royals assigned Lopez to the

Surprise Saguaros The Surprise Saguaros are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Surprise, Arizona, at Surprise Stadium. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Kansas City Roya ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

. He began 2018 with Northwest Arkansas and was promoted to the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omah ...

in June. In 130 total games between the two clubs, Lopez batted .308/.382/.417 with nine home runs and 53 RBIs. Lopez began 2019 back with Omaha. On May 14, his contract was selected and he was called up to the major leagues for the first time. He made his debut that night versus the Texas Rangers. Overall with the 2020 Kansas City Royals, Lopez batted .201 with one home run and 13 RBIs in 56 games. He had the lowest slugging percentage of all qualified hitters in the AL, at .266. Lopez was nominated for the

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances. It is awarded at each fieldin ...

at second base, having erroneously been omitted from the initial list of finalists. He eventually lost out on the award to César Hernández of Cleveland. During spring training in 2021, Lopez switched his uniform number from No. 1 to No 8 to allow Jarrod Dyson to wear No 1. Having hit .118 in 34 at-bats in Spring Training, Lopez was optioned to Triple-A

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, with

Whit Merrifield Whitley David Merrifield (born January 24, 1989) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder who played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillie ...

expected to assume the starting second baseman role. However, an injury to shortstop Adalberto Mondesí in the final game of Spring Training forced him onto the injured list, and Lopez began the regular season as the Royals shortstop. Mondesí was activated and made his season debut on May 25, but returned to the injured list with a separate injury on June 6. Lopez was listed on the Royals All-Star ballot at the designated hitter position, despite not having played a game there during the season, as the team put Mondesí on the ballot at shortstop and Merrifield at second base. On August 19, Lopez hit his first home run of the season in a 3–6 loss against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

. Lopez ended 2021 with 78 runs, 43 RBIs, 22 stolen bases and a .300 batting average, becoming the first regular Royals shortstop to bat .300 or better in a season. Defensively, he led all qualifying AL shortstops with a .987 fielding percentage.

Atlanta Braves

On July 30, 2023, the Royals traded Lopez to the

in exchange for Taylor Hearn. In his first start for the Braves on August 12, Lopez recorded four hits, including a 3-run home run, at the plate and finished the game on the mound, pitching a scoreless ninth inning in a 21–3 victory against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

Chicago White Sox

On November 16, 2023, the Braves traded Lopez to the

, along with Michael Soroka,

Jared Shuster Jared Craig Shuster (born August 3, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Wake Forest University. The Atlanta Braves selected him in the first ro ...

, Braden Shewmake, and Riley Gowens for Aaron Bummer. He played in 124 games for the White Sox in 2024, slashing .241/.312/.294 with one home run, 21 RBI, and five stolen bases. On November 12, 2024, Lopez was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

, but he rejected the assignment and elected free agency.

Los Angeles Angels

On February 2, 2025, Lopez signed a minor league contract with the

. He was released prior to the start of the season on March 21. On March 25, 2025, Lopez signed a major league contract with the

. Lopez made his Angels debut on

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

in an unusual manner, as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

, during a blowout game versus the

. In four games for the Angels, he went 0-for-6. Lopez was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by Los Angeles on April 18. He cleared waivers and elected free agency the next day.

Chicago Cubs

On April 23, 2025, Lopez signed with the

on a major league contract. In 14 appearances for Chicago, he went 1-for-18 (.056) with one RBI and four walks. Lopez was designated for assignment by Chicago on May 19. He cleared waivers and elected free agency on May 21.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On May 27, 2025, Lopez signed a minor league contract with the

International career

Lopez played for the

Italy national baseball team The Italy national baseball team represents Italy in international baseball competitions. The Italian national team was ranked WBSC World Rankings, 16th in the world as of 2022. Like the country's Italy national football team, association footba ...

at the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball tournament and the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It began on March 8, 2023, and ran until March 21. It was originally scheduled to take place in ...

References

External links

Creighton Bluejays bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Nicky 1995 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen 2023 World Baseball Classic players American people of Italian descent Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from DuPage County, Illinois Burlington Royals players Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Creighton Bluejays baseball players Kansas City Royals players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball infielders Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Reno Aces players Sportspeople from Naperville, Illinois Surprise Saguaros players Wilmington Blue Rocks players