Where Does Lopez fit in the Royals’ future plans?
Kansas City has many questions to answer as the season moves along, like who will be here long term, and who will not. One of the biggestion question marks is at shortstop. The team had high hopes for Adalberto Mondesi when signing him out of the Dominican Republic in 2011. They envisioned him becoming the long term shortstop following Alcides Escobar's departure from Kansas City. Unfortunately for Mondesi and the Royals, that certainly hasn't worked out due to Mondesi's injury history. The Royals turned to infielder Nicky Lopez to fill in for Mondesi for the remainder of the 2022 season. Lopez, like Escobar, definitely doesn't hit for power, but he is great defensively and has plenty of speed. I believe the hitting issue can definitely be resolved with some minor changes by working with the interim/new hitting coach. The 27-year old most likely will never hit for much power because it's just not how he's built; however, like with Escobar, I believe ...