Hey, remember that New York Mets pitcher who had a mini-implosion about a month ago, got ejected, threw his glove into the stands and was then unfortunately misquoted following the game, which then led to the Mets DFA’ing him? Well, that’s veteran relief pitcher Jorge Lopez and he’s now in the Chicago Cubs bullpen.
The Cubs signed Lopez to minor league deal earlier in June less than a week after the Mets officially released him from their organization. His last appearance was on May 29, when Lopez was ejected in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers and then really let his emotions take over by launching his glove into the stands as he walked toward the dugout.
Probably the bigger headline came when at first Lopez was quoted as saying that the Mets were the worst team in the league, when in reality he was actually calling himself the worst teammate in the league following his actions.
Anyway, Lopez was DFA’d and then released and now he’s found a new home, where I guess pretty much anyone else is welcomed if you have a healthy arm.
Lopez was added to the Cubs bullpen prior to Friday’s series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs once again lost one of their solid relievers to an injury, as right-hander Keegan Thompson was placed on the 15-day injured list after suffering a fractured rib, which happened during an exercise according to Marquee Sports Network reporter Taylor McGregor.
Lopez made his Cubs debut Friday night, pitching a scoreless seventh inning in Chicago’s 4-2 loss in Milwaukee.
During his time with the Mets prior to his release, Lopez was decent in 28 appearances, posting a 3.76 ERA in 26.1 innings. However, Lopez was starting to show some signs of cracking, as he allowed at least one run in his final three outings with the Mets to end the month of May with a 6.00 ERA.
The 31-year-old made his MLB debut with the Brewers back in 2015, but Lopez didn’t really get a true opportunity in the majors until he was with the Kansas City Royals in 2018-19, when he was still a starting pitcher.
Lopez has appeared in the big leagues every year since 2015 expect for the 2016 season and despite a career 5.42 ERA the righty continues to find work.
Maybe teams are trying to figure out how to get Lopez back to his form from 2022, when he was outstanding with the Baltimore Orioles. In 44 games that season Lopez had a 1.68 ERA and 0.97 WHIP, with 54 strikeouts in 48.1 innings. Lopez was named to the 2022 AL All-Star Team.
The Cubs are now Lopez’s seventh MLB team of his career.
