The Chicago White Sox are hoping someone takes Nicky Lopez off their hands
He was placed on waivers where a team can claim and take on his contract. If no one claims him, he stays on the White Sox.
The Chicago White Sox have reportedly put infielder Nicky Lopez on waivers however he has not been designated for assignment.
Instead, the Sox are taking advantage of a loophole where teams can put veterans on waivers with the hope a contender or another club claims the player.
The benefit is the team waiving the players gets salary relief as the claiming team assumes the rest of the player's deal.
The Los Angeles Angels did this last season especially with Lucas Giolito after he was acquired from the White Sox and then the Angels quickly fell out of contention and wanted to get his salary off their books.
Teams can claim these players, assume their contracts, and the players would be eligible for the playoff roster.
— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) August 29, 2024
Today was the last day to start this process, as outright waivers takes 48 hours and the playoff roster cutoff is Sept 1st. Players can still play while on waivers.
Lopez can still play for the Sox while he is on waivers.
This type of waivers allows him to play while if he was designated for assignment, he would no longer be on the 26-man roster.
The front office must have put him on waivers with the hope of clearing his $4.3 million salary off the books. Next year is slated to be his final year of arbitration and it did not seem like any contender was interested in acquiring him at the deadline.
It is unlikely a contender will claim him, but a case could be made since a club would be paying a month of the rest of the millions he is making this season. He is a left-handed hitter who brings a decent glove to the table and can play second base, shortstop, and third base. He is considered a two-defensive-runs-saved fielder and four-outs-above-average.
Lopez also has decent speed on the basepaths. Any team that claims him can then just non-tender him if they do not want to give him a slight raise that he will likely earn.
However, in terms of adding value to a team, he has 0.6 fWAR and 73 wRC+. He does not hit for power as he has zero dingers this year and six career home runs.
To show you how bad the team's offense has been, Lopez' .235 average is the third highest on the club and his .306 on-base percentage is second on the team.
That is not something teams are going to want to come off their bench. Hey, maybe the Atlanta Braves decide they want Nicky from Naperville back.
Getting Lopez off the roster provides playing time for Jacob Amaya who was recently claimed off of waivers. It would also allow Brooks Baldwin to play more at shortstop.
However, expect Lopez to still be with the White Sox for the rest of the season.
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