Cubs announced Wednesday that they had signed the inner field player Nicky Lopez to a large league agreement. Interior field player and rule 5 Pick Worker was appointed for the award to open a place on the list. Photographer Sam Bernero spotted Lopez for the first time to Wrigley Field this afternoon and tweeted a photo she took. Shane Riordan, from 670, the score then reported that Lopez, an octagon client, signed a major league agreement.
Chicago has also selected the recently acquired left -handed contract Drew PomeranzOptional right Gavin Hollowell to triple-a iowa and transferred left-handed Justin Steele From the 15 -day IL to the 60 -day IL (thus opening a place of 40 men for Pomeranz). Steele recently underwent an elbow operation and will miss the rest of the 2025 season, so his move to the 60 -day IL was a formality.
Lopez was with the Cubs as a non-darling of spring training but did not do the opening club. He chose to get out of this agreement and signed with the Angels, who needed an interior depth due to a handful of injuries. Halos have restored Zach Neto Last week and appointed Lopez for assignment, after which he elected free agency.
Lopez, aged 30, appeared in five games and was safely in six appearances in his short passage with the Angels. He hopes a wider look with the cubs, who have questions in the field Matt Shaw And see the worker now designated for the attribution also fight in the warm corner. Veteran Jon Berti saw more time at the third basis recently, although it has not struck much either – only .250 / .344 / .250 in a sample of 32 plates.
Lopez, like Berti, brings a versatile and high quality glove to Cubs. He spent most of his career in the middle center-champ where he notes as a more defender in both positions. It is less experienced at the third basis, but still has strong notes in nearly 400 images there (7 defensive points saved, 6 outs above the average).
Excellent as Lopez is on the defensive side of the medal, his bat leaves much to be desired. He is a career striker .247 / .311 / .313 in 2,352 apparitions at the MLB level, and even this modest production is biased by what is now like a clear aberrant value campaign in 2021, when he beat .300 / .365 / .378. In three seasons and more since that time, Lopez has drink at a line .232 / .301 / .286 between the Royals, Braves, White Sox and Angels.
Workman, 25, was selected from the Tigers organization during the recovery of rule 5 of December and made the list of the opening day after hitting .364 / .420 / .705 in 50 appearances with the spring plaque. He did not transport this exceptional production in the regular season. He appeared in nine games, but did not collect only 15 plates matches, during which he went 2 for 14 with a walk. Workman has never had a real look with the Cubs, which is not surprising, because it is difficult for clubs to wear a career minor feature that cannot be optionized to minors.
Workman is considered a defender more to the third goal with a lot of raw power and too much Swing-And-Miss in his offensive profile. He spent the 2024 season with the Double-A of the Tigers affiliate, where he struck .280 / .366 / .476 with 18 circuits, 30 interceptions, a walking rate of 11.7% and an inflated withdrawal rate of 27.5% during his third season of action at this level. He has not yet appeared in a triple-a game.
Now that it has been appointed for assignment, Workman will be placed on pure derogations and offered to the rest of the league (excluding tigers). If it is not claimed, it will be per rule for tigers for $ 50,000.
The veteran Pomeranz has not presented in the majors since 2021 due to a long series of injuries. He signed a minor league contract with the navies during the offseason and launched 9 2/3 images with their Tcoma Tacoma affiliate before being exchanged for cubs for money. He granted five deserved points (4.66 ERA) to nine strokes and six balls on balls (plus two successful drummers) during this short passage with Tacoma. Obviously, the Pomeranz command was a problem, but it also attracted 14 of its 43 opponents (32.6%) and seated 92.3 MPH on its radiator – a good little north of the 90-91 MPH during which it was seated during the minor league sessions with the Padres and the Dodgers in the last two seasons.
