| Felipe López | |
|---|---|
 López with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011 | |
| Infielder | |
| Born: (1980-05-12)May 12, 1980 (age 45) Bayamón, Puerto Rico | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 3, 2001, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 20, 2011, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .264 |
| Home runs | 90 |
| Runs batted in | 439 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Felipe López (born May 12, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professionalbaseballinfielder. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theToronto Blue Jays,Cincinnati Reds,Washington Nationals,St. Louis Cardinals,Arizona Diamondbacks,Milwaukee Brewers,Boston Red Sox, andTampa Bay Rays. He also played in theChinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for theChinatrust Brothers.
In 1998, López graduated fromLake Brantley High School inAltamonte Springs, Florida where he set school records byhitting .521 with 15doubles, fivetriples, sevenhome runs, 28runs batted in and 34stolen bases in his senior year. He was also votedFlorida's Player of the Year, was aUSA Today All-USA selection, and was rated byBaseball America as the best defensive high school shortstop in the country.
López was a 1st round pick of theToronto Blue Jays (8th pick overall) in the1998 Major League Baseball draft. He made his Major League debut on August 3, 2001, and played second base and shortstop part-time.
On December 1, 2002, the Blue Jays traded theswitch-hitting Lopez as part of a four-team trade with theCincinnati Reds,Oakland Athletics, and theArizona Diamondbacks. The Toronto Blue Jays sent him to the Cincinnati Reds, who sent pitcherElmer Dessens to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks sentfirst basemanErubiel Durazo to the Oakland Athletics, who, in turn, sent minor league pitcher Jason Arnold to the Blue Jays.
After backing upBarry Larkin during the2003 and2004 seasons, López earned the starting job in2005. López's first season as the Reds' regular shortstop was his breakthrough. He hit 23 home runs and stole 15 bases while compiling a .291 batting average with a .352on-base percentage. He was selected to the 2005National League All-Star team.
López was traded by the Reds on July 13, 2006, to theWashington Nationals along withAustin Kearns andRyan Wagner forGary Majewski,Bill Bray,Royce Clayton,Brendan Harris, andDaryl Thompson, a minor league prospect. In 2006, he tied for the Major League lead inerrors at shortstop, with 28, and had the lowestfielding percentage (.954).
When first traded to the Nationals, López's original jersey number was 7, however whenDamian Jackson was traded, he turned in his number 7 for Jackson's previous jersey number 2.
In2007, he had the lowest fielding percentage of all NL shortstops, .957, and often found himself switching between the position of shortstop and second base. This switch was due to the recovery of the Nationals original shortstop, Christian Guzman, who had injured himself in 2005, though he later gave the position back to Lopez after sustaining yet another injury during the 2007 season.
On April 24, 2008, López hit agrand slam to give Washington a 7–3 lead en route to a 10–5 victory over the Mets. On July 31, 2008, López was released by the Nationals.
López was signed by theSt. Louis Cardinals on August 5, 2008.[1]He debuted August 6 when the Cardinals played theLos Angeles Dodgers. He played left field and recorded a single in his first at bat, finishing the game 1 for 3. Lopez closed out the season batting .385 with the Cardinals and brought his season average up to .283. He became a free agent at the end of the season.[2]
On December 12, 2008, López signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks.[3] Lopez hit two home runs in his first two at-bats in his first game with the Diamondbacks, which is the first time that has happened sinceRichie Sexson in 2005 with the Seattle Mariners. Lopez and teammate Tony Clark were also the first players to hit a home run from both sides of home plate on Opening Day in a 9–8 win over theColorado Rockies.
Lopez hit lead-off for The Diamondbacks, and posted a .305 average through 84 games, as well as 6Home Runs, 25RBI, and 44 runs.
On July 19, theMilwaukee Brewers acquired López in exchange for minor league outfielderCole Gillespie and pitcher Roque Mercedes. He went 4 for 4 in his debut with theMilwaukee Brewers.[4]
In 2009, Lopez tied for the Major League lead in errors by a second baseman, with 17.[5]
On February 27, 2010, López signed a one-year deal with theSt. Louis Cardinals. López' base salary was $1 million, plus performance incentives of $1.2 million.[6]
On April 17, 2010, López started against theNew York Mets at shortstop, was moved to third base, and then pitched in the 18th inning of the game. Although the Cardinals eventually lost the game in the 20th inning, López pitched a scoreless inning, giving up only one hit and a walk. He then went on the DL, and came back and took over as the starting third baseman for the Cardinals afterDavid Freese had a season ending foot injury. He eventually became the backup when the Cardinals acquiredPedro Feliz.
On September 21, 2010, López was released by the St. Louis Cardinals because he wasn't fitting in with the team's focus on younger players.[7]
López was claimed by theSan Diego Padres, but he rejected the claim to become a free agent and signed with theBoston Red Sox, because he would not feel a part of the team as he would be ineligible for the Padres post-season roster.[8] On September 28 López made his debut with the Red Sox.
On February 2, 2011, López signed a minor league deal with theTampa Bay Rays with an invite to spring training.[9] On May 3, the Rays designated him for assignment to make room on the 25-man roster forEvan Longoria coming off thedisabled list.[10] He had his contract purchased on May 22 whenReid Brignac was placed on the bereavement list.[11]
On June 12, 2011, López was designated for assignment again whenElliot Johnson was activated from the 15-day disabled list.[12]
Lopez was traded back to the Milwaukee Brewers on July 28, 2011, for cash considerations. On August 21, after recording a .182 batting average in 51 plate appearances for Milwaukee, he was designated for assignment.[13] After the 2011 season, he elected for free agency.[14]
On August 5, 2014, Lopez signed with theChinatrust Brothers of theChinese Professional Baseball League.
· Baseball Almanac,CPBL