Royals trade Nicky Lopez
Kansas City this season has played some of the worst baseball in the modern era, but they do however have some promising players in Brady Singer, Bobby Witt Jr., Nick Pratto, and others. The team's bad record unfortunately shows the lack of offense the team has, including Nicky Lopez. Despite Lopez's lack of pop in the bat, the infielder has a great glove and good speed. Before entering the 2023 season with the Royals, Lopez was the primary second baseman and played occasionally at shortstop and third base; but Lopez saw his playing time take a big dip following the surge of Bobby Witt Jr, Michael Massey, and Maikel Garcia. Lopez played in 68 games for the boys in blue, but he saw his stats decline: PA: 190 AB: 160 R: 19 and 34 hits. Although Lopez's stats aren't great, his presence in the Kansas City community will be greatly missed. During the 2020 MLB season, the infielder launched his program called Nicky's #1's. During an interview with Royals beat writer Anne Rogers, Lopez went on to talk about his foundation, "Those kids make my day,” Lopez said. “To see them smile and have them interact with me, ask any questions they want. And then seeing the outpour of effect that I had on them, whether it’s through tweets or Instagram or messages they send me about how much it meant to them. It goes a long way. I’m not doing it for the tweets or anything, I’m doing it for the kids. They enjoy it, just seeing their smiles. And seeing how happy they are is unbelievable.” Although Kansas City seems to be willing to trade almost anyone to help speed up the rebuilding process, they haven't made many good trades on paper since the departure of former Royals general manager Dayton Moore. The Royals seem to be primarily looking for more pitching to add to their big league roster and possibly in the minor leagues. The pitcher Kansas City got in return for Lopez doesn't seem to be a good step forward for a team that is hoping to develop major league arms. In fact, it might not have been any worse. The left-hander before being dealt to Kansas City was designated for assignment by the Rangers two weeks ago and traded to Atlanta for cash. Yes, you read that right. Hearn's stats have been pretty abysmal the past two seasons. The 28-year old owned an ERA of 10.29 in four games with the Rangers and an ERA of 108.00 with the Braves. Hopefully, Hearn can turn it around with the Royals and possibly become the next Jeremy Guthrie trade. The 28-year old has a three pitch mix that includes a fastball, slider, and a changeup. According to an article from ESPN on July 30th: "Hearn, 28, was a part of the Rangers’ pitching staff starting in 2019, shifting between the bullpen and the rotation. He logged over 100 innings in the past two seasons, though he spent most of the ’23 campaign in the minor leagues. Texas dealt him to Atlanta in exchange for cash considerations on July 23, and he made his Braves debut on Saturday. It did not go well, as he gave up four runs with two walks and a home run allowed while recording just one out, raising his season ERA to 14.73." Hopefully, as the Royals continue to make trades for pitchers and maybe other position players for the next few years they get in return, it can speed up the rebuild.
