Cubs Sign Nicky Lopez, DFA Gage Workman

Gage Workman came into camp as a relatively unknown Rule 5 pickup who had never played above Double-A, then became one of the Cubs’ best stories of the spring by hitting .364 with a 1.125 OPS and four homers. That success hasn’t carried over to the regular season, however, as the 25-year-old has gotten off to a slow start in limited action. Even the superb defense he flashed in Mesa has lacked so far, with three errors in total and two costly gaffes in Tuesday’s comeback win.

While it’s entirely possible Workman will eventually develop into a solid big leaguer, the Cubs need to give him more time to hone his craft in the minors. Since he’s a Rule 5 pickup, that means exposing him to waivers and running the risk of returning him to the Tigers for nothing more than $50,000 in compensation. Or perhaps they can work out a trade to keep him in the organization, which seems like a plausible course of action.

Taking Workman’s place on the roster for the time being is former White Sox infielder Nicky Lopez, who was with the Cubs this spring before opting for free agency after failing to make the roster. He caught on with the Angels, but was designated for assignment last Friday after going hitless in six plate appearances. Lopez cleared waivers and elected free agency on Sunday, so now he falls into the waiting arms of a team searching for help at third base.

We’re only 25 games into the season and the Cubs have already used Workman, Matt Shaw, Justin Turner, Jon Berti, and Vidal Bruján at the hot corner. Lopez has logged a total of 395 innings at third in parts of four seasons with five teams, accumulating seven defensive runs saved and eight outs above average. That’s better than the -2 marks the Cubs have in each category across 224 innings this season, so perhaps he’s a small upgrade even if the bat doesn’t help much.

Lopez had one slightly above-average offensive season, posting a 104 wRC+ over 565 plate appearances with the Royals in 2021, but his career average of 73 isn’t much to dream on. He’s also got very little power, boasting a .066 ISO that is lower than all but four of the 583 players who’ve gotten at least 500 PAs since 2019. But again, the real key here is that he can pick it at third for a pitching staff that gives up a whole lot of contact.

Regardless of how well his glove plays, this feels like a stopgap move until Shaw regains his confidence and proves he deserves another shot in Chicago.