Taylor again stars at plate, Royals beat Rangers 11-4
Michael AAPRIL 3, 2021 • Associated Press
NICKY LOPEZ #12 - SHORTSTOP - CHICAGO CUBS
0 HR •
1 RBI •
.042 AVG
0 HR
1 RBI
.042 AVG
Will be in Opening Day lineup Manager Mike Matheny said Lopez would start at shortstop in the Royals' season opener Thursday against the Rangers, Josh Vernier of 610 Sports reports.
Impact Texas is bringing a right-hander (Kyle Gibson) to the mound Opening Day, so the lefty-hitting Lopez looks on track to at least occupy the strong side of a platoon at shortstop while Adalberto Mondesi (oblique) is sidelined to begin the season. Per Vernier, Matheny said that he expects Mondesi to miss "a couple of weeks" with the injury, so Lopez could be in store for a near-everyday role until around at least mid-April. With a .228 lifetime average and three home runs and one stolen base across 159 career games, Lopez shouldn't be counted on to deliver much fantasy value even if he receives steady at-bats.
MARCH 31, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Royals put SS Adalberto Mondesi on IL to begin season
Oft-injured Kansas City Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi will begin the season on the injured list with a right oblique strainMARCH 31, 2021 • Associated Press
Receives callup The Royals recalled Lopez from their alternate training site Wednesday.
Impact Lopez initially appeared set to miss out on joining the Opening Day roster, but Kansas City chose to bring him back following Adalberto Mondesi's surprising placement on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique strain. The severity of Mondesi's injury isn't yet known, but Lopez could end up filling the strong side of a platoon at shortstop with Hanser Alberto for however long Mondesi is sidelined. While handling a near-everyday role for Kansas City the past two seasons, Lopez provided little fantasy value with a .228 average, three home runs, one stolen base, 59 runs and 43 RBI in 159 games.
MARCH 31, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Optioned to Triple-A Lopez was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Sunday.
Impact Lopez appeared to be the favorite to start at second base to begin camp, but he struggled during spring training and will begin the season at Triple-A Omaha as a result. The 26-year-old hit just .118 with one double, four RBI and 13 strikeouts in 16 Cactus League games. Whit Merrifield could now shift to second base to begin the year with Jarrod Dyson potentially starting in center field.
MARCH 28, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Starting role not set Lopez could lose playing time at second base due to a poor spring as Whit Merrifield has seen the most time at second base recently, MLB.com reports. Lopez is hitting just .118 (4-...
Impact Lopez hit just .201 with a .552 OPS last season, so he'll need as strong start to the season to remain a starter. It's possible he could move to a platoon or reserve role if the Royals decide to give a prospect like Kyle Isbel playing time in right field or call up top prospect Bobby Witt early in the season.
MARCH 28, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Royals send 4 top prospects, including Witt, to minors camps
The Kansas City Royals reassigned four of their top prospects to their minor league camp Monday, including touted shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., whose brilliant spring training nearly c...MARCH 22, 2021 • Associated Press
Back in action Friday Lopez (undisclosed) is starting at second base and batting ninth in Friday's spring game against the Angels, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.
Impact The 26-year-old was removed from Wednesday's lineup for an unspecified reason, but he's back in the starting nine Friday. Lopez is expected to open the season starting at the keystone for the Royals.
MARCH 19, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Removed from lineup Lopez was removed from the lineup for Wednesday's spring game against the Athletics for an unspecified reason.
Impact It's not yet clear whether Lopez's removal from Wednesday's lineup is due to an injury, but Gabriel Cancel will now play second base and bat ninth. The 26-year-old has gone just 2-for-21 with two RBI, one run, one stolen base, four walks and nine strikeouts to begin spring training, but he should have a starting role for the Royals this year if he's fully healthy for Opening Day.
MARCH 17, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
After big offseason, Royals confident they can compete again
After four consecutive losing seasons, the Kansas City Royals are done with rebuildingMARCH 17, 2021 • Associated Press
Santana, Benintendi highlight new-look Royals lineup
The arrival of the longtime Indians slugger Carlos Santana and young Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi in Kansas City filled out a roster that could be sneaky good as the Royals...FEBRUARY 22, 2021 • Associated Press
Royals moves for Santana, Benintendi proof it's time to win
The Kansas City Royals had been quiet the past couple of offseason cycles, letting the young core they plan to lead their next assault on the World Series to grow and develop out o...FEBRUARY 17, 2021 • Associated Press
Burnes, Braun help Brewers to 5-0 win over the Royals
Corbin Burnes threw six solid innings of four-hit ball, Ryan Braun hit a three-run homer in Milwaukee's four-run eighth and the Brewers beat the Kansas City Royals 5-0SEPTEMBER 20, 2020 • Associated Press
Keller 1st MLB shutout, KC tops Pirates for 6th win in row
Brad Keller pitched his first major league shutout, tossing a five-hitter as the Kansas City Royals won their sixth in a row by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-0SEPTEMBER 13, 2020 • Associated Press
Mondesi has HR, SB; Zimmer gets 1st win as Royals top Bucs
Adalberto Mondesi homered and stole a base for the third consecutive game, Kyle Zimmer got his first career win after a winding path to the major leagues and the Kansas City Royals...SEPTEMBER 13, 2020 • Associated Press
Singer flirts with no-hitter for 8, Royals beat Indians 11-1
Kansas City rookie Brady Singer allowed just one hit _ a two-out single through an infield shift in the eighth inning _ and flirted with baseball history while leading the Royals t...SEPTEMBER 11, 2020 • Associated Press
Braves break NL scoring record in 29-9 romp over Marlins
SEPTEMBER 10, 2020 • Associated Press
Duffy pitches Royals to 3-0 win over Indians
Danny Duffy pitched four-hit ball into the sixth inning and snapped a winless streak of nearly six years in Cleveland as the Kansas City Royals beat the Indians 3-0 on Wednesday ni...SEPTEMBER 10, 2020 • Associated Press
Rangers snap 6-game losing streak, beat Angels 7-1
SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 • Associated Press
Sitting again Monday Lopez is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Indians, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.
Impact On the bench for the second time in three days, Lopez's grip on an everyday role looks to be loosening. Whit Merrifield will cover the keystone in place of Lopez, who is slashing a mediocre .214/.290/.286 on the season.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2020 • ROTOWIRE
Not starting Saturday Lopez isn't starting Saturday against the White Sox, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.
Impact Lopez recorded hits in each of the past two games, and he'll get a breather Saturday. Whit Merrifield will shift to second base with Bubba Starling starting in center field.
SEPTEMBER 5, 2020 • ROTOWIRE
Robert's long homer helps White Sox rout Royals 11-6
Luis Robert’s 458-foot home run capped a second five-run inning of the night for Chicago as the White Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 11-6SEPTEMBER 4, 2020 • Associated Press
Robert hits 3-run HR in 10th, White Sox beat Royals 5-2
Prized rookie Luis Robert hit his first game-ending homer, a three-run drive in the 10th inning that gave the Chicago White Sox a 5-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on SundayAUGUST 30, 2020 • Associated Press
Drops in order Lopez will start at second base and will bat eighth Sunday against the White Sox, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.
Impact Lopez batted second in the Kansas City order over a stretch of seven games earlier this month, but after failing to heat up at the plate, he's since returned to the bottom third of the lineup. He'll stick in the No. 8 spot for the sixth game in a row after going 2-for-16 over the previous five contests, dropping his season slash line to .205/.286/.284 in the process.
AUGUST 30, 2020 • ROTOWIRE
Rosario, Sano back stingy Dobnak as Twins beat Royals 7-2
Eddie Rosario hit a three-run homer, Miguel Sano homered and also drove in three runs, and the Twins beat the Royals 7-2 to even their series at a game apieceAUGUST 23, 2020 • Associated Press
