It took long enough, but the Kansas City Royals made the right move in calling up Nicky Lopez.
Kansas City Royals fans had seen enough when it came to Lucas Duda and Chris Owings. Neither player was producing any value at the plate, and Owings was being shoehorned in the lineup despite thoroughly embarrassing numbers. Meanwhile, Nicky Lopez, one of the Royals top prospects, had nothing left to prove in AAA. The frustration was palpable.
Finally, on Monday, the Royals made that long awaited move. Although Owings and Duda are still on the roster, Lopez has been called up to the majors, with Whit Merrifield‘s versatility playing a large role in making that happen.
On a conference call with reporters, Royals GM Dayton Moore said that, after discussions with Whit Merrifield, the decision was made to have Merrifield move to the outfield
— Lynn Worthy (@LWorthySports) May 13, 2019
Lopez certainly does not appear to have anything left to prove at AAA. Over his 138 plate appearances, he has produced an excellent .353/.457/.500 batting line, hitting six doubles, three homers, and stealing nine bases. Most impressively, Lopez has drawn 20 walks while striking out only five times.
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It is difficult to imagine that the Royals would not be able to find a place in the lineup for someone with that production. Yet, that was exactly their excuse, saying that they wanted to allow Lopez to play every day, and keep Merrifield at second. Fortunately, Merrifield spoke with the front office and was able to convince them to bring up Lopez.
The Royals should easily find a place in the lineup for Lopez. After all, Owings has, for some reason known only to Ned Yost, appeared in 35 of the Royals 41 contests this year. It would be difficult for Lopez to approach the level of futility that Owings has provided to the lineup thus far in 2019.
Even if he does struggle, it would not be the end of the world. Lopez is a piece of the Royals future, a player that could easily be the future at second while Merrifield functions as a super utility man. The future is getting closer, as piece by piece, the Royals are bringing the kids to the majors.
Nicky Lopez has been promoted to the Kansas City Royals. It took long enough to make that happen.