Jesús Alejo López (born May 5, 1996) is a Mexican professional baseball infielder in the Athletics organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds.
| Alejo López | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) López with the Louisville Bats in 2021 | |
| Athletics | |
| Infielder | |
| Born: May 5, 1996 Mexico City, Mexico | |
Bats: Switch Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 28, 2021, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| MLB statistics (through 2023 season) | |
| Batting average | .265 |
| Home runs | 1 |
| Runs batted in | 11 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
Amateur career
editLópez attended Greenway High School in Phoenix, Arizona. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 27th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.[1]
Professional career
editCincinnati Reds
editLópez made his professional debut that year with the Arizona League Reds, where he slashed a torrid .419/.526/.484. In 2016, López played for the rookie-level Billings Mustangs, posting a .273/.342/.327 slash line with one home run and 29 RBI. He returned to Billings for the 2017 season, and hit .300/.388/.455 with four home runs and 33 RBI.[2] For the 2018 season, López played for the Single-A Dayton Dragons, slashing .321/.375/.406 in 65 games. In 2019, he played for the High-A Daytona Tortugas and batted .287/.353/.347 with two home runs and fifty RBI.[3]
López did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] López began 2021 with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts before being promoted to the Triple-A Louisville Bats after hitting .362 in Chattanooga.[5]
On June 28, 2021, López was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time after hitting .358/.436/.526 with two home runs and 14 RBI in Louisville.[6] López made his Major League debut that day as a pinch hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies. López faced relief pitcher Bailey Falter, where he connected on the first pitch he saw for a single. [7] López finished his rookie campaign with a .261/.261/.261 slash across 14 games.
López appeared in 59 games for Cincinnati in 2022. In 145 at-bats, he batted .262/.314/.331 with 1 home run and 10 RBI.
On February 8, 2023, López was designated for assignment by the Reds following the acquisition of Will Benson.[8] On February 14, López cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Louisville.[9] In 108 games for Triple–A Louisville, he batted .282/.390/.404 with 7 home runs, 38 RBI, and 15 stolen bases. On August 29, the Reds selected López's contract, adding him to the major league roster.[10] On August 31, López was once again designated for assignment by the Reds, without appearing in a game for the team.[11] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Louisville on September 2.[12] On September 9, López was selected back to the major league roster as a COVID-19 replacement for Stuart Fairchild.[13] He served as the starting second baseman that day after Noelvi Marte suffered a pregame injury. In the contest against the St. Louis Cardinals, he went 1–for–2 with an RBI before being ejected for arguing a called third strike.[14] The next day, López was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Louisville.[15] On October 2, López elected free agency.[16]
Atlanta Braves
editOn October 7, 2023, López signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves.[17] He played in 112 games for the Triple–A Gwinnett Stripers in 2024, hitting .307/.392/.397 with four home runs, 55 RBI, and 21 stolen bases. López was released by the Braves organization on September 23, 2024.[18]
Athletics
editOn November 11, 2024, López signed a minor league contract with the Athletics.[19]
References
edit- ^ Gilbert, Jeff. "Infielder Lopez chasing baseball dream with Dayton Dragons". dayton-daily-news.
- ^ "Alejo Lopez Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ Zach Dean. "After 5 years, Daytona Tortugas infielder Alejo Lopez finally an All-Star - Sports - Daytona Beach News-Journal Online - Daytona Beach, FL". News-journalonline.com. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ Jeff Todd (June 30, 2020). "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ "Cincinnati Reds prospect Alejo Lopez dominating minor leagues". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ Steve Adams (June 28, 2021). "Reds DFA Scott Heineman, Promote Alejo Lopez". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ "Nick Castellanos hits grand slam in Reds' win". Mlb.com. June 29, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ "Reds' Alejo Lopez: Pushed off 40-man roster". cbssports.com. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
- ^ "Reds' Alejo Lopez: Outrighted to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ^ "Reds' Alejo Lopez: Selected to MLB roster". cbssports.com. August 29, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
- ^ "Reds claim Harrison Bader, Hunter Renfroe off waivers". ESPN.com. August 31, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
- ^ "Reds' Alejo Lopez: Outrighted to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
- ^ "Reds' Alejo Lopez: Joins major-league squad". cbssports.com. September 9, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
- ^ "Reds' Alejo Lopez: Starts for scratched Marte". cbssports.com. September 10, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
- ^ "Reds' Alejo Lopez: Returns to Triple-A". cbssports.com. September 10, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
- ^ "Alejo Lopez: Becomes free agent". cbssports.com. October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
- ^ "Transactions". MLB.com. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ https://www.milb.com/transactions/2024-09-23
- ^ https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/11/athletics-sign-alejo-lopez-infielder.html
External links
edit- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
