9:48pm: López still has one minor league option remaining, reports Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic (on X). That affords San Francisco the freedom to send him to Triple-A without putting him on waivers.
2:07pm: The Giants have acquired infielder/outfielder Otto López from the Blue Jays, per announcements from both clubs. The Blue Jays, who designated López for assignment last week, receive cash considerations in return. In order to open a spot on their roster, the Giants designated outfielder TJ Hopkins for assignment.
López, 25, was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays when the team finalized its five-year deal with right-hander Yariel Rodriguez. The right-handed hitter has appeared in sparse MLB action over the past two seasons. He’s 6-for-10 during that time (all singles) but has spent the bulk of his 2022-23 seasons in Triple-A Buffalo. He had a big year at the plate with Buffalo in ’22, hitting .297/.378/.415 in 391 plate appearances, but López declined across the board this past season, slashing just .258/.313/.343 in a comparable amount of playing time.
While López has long rated among the Jays’ top 30 prospects due to a plus hit tool and above-average speed, he has bottom-of-the-scale power (seven homers in 931 Triple-A plate appearances). He’s punched out in just 15% of his Triple-A plate appearances but hasn’t walked at an especially high clip (8.3%). And for all the speed he possesses, López’s 70.8% success rate in 518 minor league games (90-for-127) is below average.
López brings some versatility to the Giants’ bench, but he also adds another right-handed bat to an infield mix that’s already crowded with such options. He’s played second base, shortstop, third base and all three outfield positions, though scouts question whether he has the arm to play on the left side of the diamond. He’ll be in the mix for playing time alongside J.D. Davis, Wilmer Flores and Thairo Estrada around the infield — if he sticks on the 40-man roster. It’s also possible the Giants simply try to pass López through waivers, which would allow them to keep him in the organization at Triple-A without dedicating a 40-man roster spot.
Hopkins, 27, made his MLB debut this past season with the Reds and went 7-for-41 (all singles) with a pair of walks and 17 strikeouts in 44 plate appearances. It was hardly an eye-catching debut, but the 2019 ninth-rounder’s production in Triple-A Louisville was far more intriguing. In his first full season at the top minor league level, Hopkins delivered a robust .308/.411/.514 batting line with a 14% walk rate, 23.9% strikeout rate, 16 home runs, 18 doubles, a triple and a pair of steals. Cincinnati designated him for assignment in December, and the Giants acquired him in exchange for cash.
Hopkins has played primarily left field in his professional career but has plenty of experience in right field and center field as well. He’s been an average or better hitter at every minor league stop and steadily improved both his walk and strikeout rates as he’s climbed the minor league ladder. He still has a pair of minor league options remaining. That could make him an intriguing fit for clubs seeking low-cost right-handed-hitting options to add to the outfield mix. The Red Sox, Twins and Padres are among the teams in that boat. San Francisco will have a week to trade Hopkins or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.
wow
otto
6 for 10
Otto-matic
Farhan’s warming up for the 60-day IL availability roster churning.
incredible
This kid doesn’t look like a bad depth piece. What am I missing?
Nothing really. He’s out of options and the Jays have half their position players as “multi-position’ players.
@longsuffering: Otto Lopez has one season of options remaining.
Nothing, Atkins signed 4 fringe middle infielders
He’s got no power and can’t play shortstop or centerfield. Looks like a lower quality Mauricio Dubon.
The Jay’s have several other guys on their roster who fill a similar niche, plus no options equals odd man out.
This guy rakes then flicks a match on the pile. SF is going to make him a native son.
That’s exactly what they said last time.
Absolutely love both moves by the Giants today; López was ranked #4 in the Jays prospect list in 2022. Light hitting utility guy with major wheels
We have a ton of those guys.
The Giants do not have anyone with major wheels. That was a big problem last year
Kapler, you beat me to it. The Giants have a lot of lumbering 1B/3B/LF/RF guys but Lopez is a low strikeout speed player that the Giants haven’t had in awhile on their bench.
antibelt, The only question was did the Giants like him better than Hopkins, and the obvious answer is yes.
That DFA also tells us that SFG is still saving a roster spot.
So Chapman or Snell?
Pitching. Snell, Monty, or trade.
I expected him to be the last guy on the jays. Hes ayed well in AAA and in the WBC for Canada but hasnt gotten any MLB ABs. Hes the perfect utility guy can play basically anywhere but SS inst great. He has speed and good contact ability. Basically hes a better IKF with the stick IMO but cant handle SS
I’d take Otto at less than $800k over Cavan at over $5-mil, pending the money was allocated somewhere else (a big bat).
5 mil wouldn’t have even gotten you carlos santana
Combine that money with another offseason signing it would. And the Jays would be closer to going below tax. They have some dead weight money that goes beyond that $5-mil example.
That might be a problem, as they are counting on Luciano, who is questionable defensively himself, to handle shortstop every day. Outside of him you got Estrada, who needs to stay at 2b as he is really good there, and the other guys who could potentially play short (Schmidt, Fitzgerald, Wisely) most likely won’t make the 26 man. They really need to get a glove first backup middle infielder.
Lopez can play SS occasionally but probably profiles more as a 2B. If his speed can translate to OF range (he’s fairly new to playing out there) he can still play a couple up the middle positions at 2B, CF, and occasional SS. That’s valuable for a good contact hitter who doesn’t have much power.
If you need a more proven guy as SS insurance, the Jays would have made decent trade partners as they have a need for a fourth OF who hits from the right side (Slater?) to round out their bench and have Espinal as redundant on their roster after signing IKF. Perhaps Slater for Espinal and some bullpen help. The Jays are pretty deep in relievers.
Decent hitter, absolutely near zero power. must be someone to keep around that fills holes without burying them
Young, fast, athletic, multi-positional and cheap.
And can’t play SS and is out of options
That’s how Tommy Pham likes his strippers
Who doesn’t?
When’s the last time a career .600 MLB hitter got DFA’d?
RBI every three at bats in ’22.
Go Otto go! Welcome to SF!
I’m curious how much cash will head back to Toronto as part of the “considerations?” Is this usually a standardized amount or percentage for DFA’d players or do GM’s genuinely go back and forth negotiating for this amount?
Could just be a nominal amount in order for the acquiring team to jump the waiver line. In some cases, I think the team parting with a player wants a good situation from them and if they feel there’s a good opportunity in SF for Lopez might simply have agreed to a pretty low dollar figure. I know in cases of veterans sometimes, the cash considerations are just a formality. The Jays traded John Axford to Milwaukee for $1.
SFGiants spending Johnson’s money with “cash considerations”
Farhan playing dfa roulette.
It’s the #40 slot churnover.
Probably not the last..
“Incredible knowledge”
(Og Bay Area sportstalk reference)
It’s actually “phenomenal knowledge” -Ray Ratto
Nah there was a few of them. The “incredible knowledge” one was Dan Dibbly’s kid. they played the sound bite on Radnich all the time.
Knbr used to be so much better.
Gary was a treasure. As a kid I remember the King and the Kid Pete Franklin and a young Bob Fitzgerald. And rest in peace Ralph Barbieri. Go Sharks! Yeah, KNBR was great. Still ok now for the occasional interview on their app.
There was no baseball news too great to play second fiddle to a five minute advert for Amici’s East Coast Pizzeria.
Another Zaidi dumpster dive who had been DFA by Blue Jays
Rw
“Another Zaidi dumpster dive who had been DFA by Blue Jays”
Every team does this
You’re just pointing out your own ignorance
Do we ever find out the cash amount of cash considerations?
Soler, Giants Brass Move Farhan was forced into. This Move, Farhan Move just because he does this little Stuff*
Until I saw the asterisk, I doubted the validity of this report.
Lol, Otto and Bart can ride the bus together.
“You can’t evict me without letting me get my stuff!”
“All I found in there was some old nudie mags and a jar of mustard.”
“WOW. I had mustard?!?!”
Great episode
baggs showing up with the professional reporting
I realize he may be lacking in power but I’ve got to say a 24 year old with his contact and speed seems like a steal for ‘cash considerations’ I understand the roster crunch situation and everything. But I think this could turn out to be a really solid pickup if he’s given a chance to play.
Yes. I remember when the Blue Jays acquired Otto Vélez from the Yankees. Didn’t realize he was still playing nearly a half century later.
Holy crap not THE Otto Lopez!
I’ve been saying all year the Giants just need another guy who can barely hit and field.
With the news that he still has an option remaining, it’s curious that they DFA’d him instead of one of the other out of options guys they don’t have a natural active roster fit for. Is this the Jays missing details in the rules? Last year they brought Jay Jackson to camp as an NRI on a minor league deal with an end of spring opt out, released him, found out he still had an option remaining and then resigned him to a major league deal. They would have had room to carry him on the 40 man out of camp and obviously liked him enough to do so as they signed him again only days later. If they knew he had the option remaining, I don’t see why they wouldn’t have just selected his contract instead of releasing him to the open market before bringing him back.
Maybe in this case, the Giants did their homework and realized Lopez missed enough time to injury last year to qualify for that fourth option year and got a nice depth piece out of just paying attention.