GLENDALE, Ariz. — Nicky Lopez ranged to his right to field Alexander Canario’s grounder behind second base in the second inning of Friday’s Cactus League opener against the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz.
The White Sox second baseman flipped the ball to shortstop Paul DeJong, who was covering the bag for a forceout to end the inning.
The new members of the Sox infield continue to get acclimated this spring.
“It’s one of those things we’ve been in the big leagues, this is going to be my fifth year, he’s been in there seven — we know where we like it, our sweet spot is,” Lopez told the Tribune on Wednesday of working with a new double-play partner. “Now it’s more of the communication part. You iron all that out during spring training, which is a good thing. Any recommendations, any thoughts or anything like that, we communicate.
“It’s been going great.”
Acquired as part of the trade that sent reliever Aaron Bummer to the Atlanta Braves, Lopez is one of the players the Sox will look to for defensive help. He committed just two errors in 277 chances with the Kansas City Royals and Braves last season.
“I always hang my hat on defense,” Lopez said. “It’s important that the guys on the mound have the confidence in the people behind them to pick up the ball. I always say, pitchers are busting their butt on the mound to throw strikes and to have them put the ball in play, the least we can do is make a play behind them.
“That’s always been my mentality since I was in college. That allows me to go out there and make the plays and go that extra mile for the pitcher. I take a lot of pride in being able to pick it up and throw it. I’m excited they have that trust in me.”
Manager Pedro Grifol said Lopez “fits in perfectly.”
“He is a very good baseball player,” Grifol said. “What do I want to see? I want to see him play baseball. That entails you’re playing to win every single day. Stay within yourself, stay within your role, get on base, turn that lineup around, make the plays and do every little thing possible to help us win that ballgame. He is more than capable of doing that. I’ve seen him do that. I am going to challenge him like no other. And he needs to understand that.”
By challenge, Grifol said he’s “not going to let him sway from his game.”
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“I have some history with him (in Kansas City),” Grifol said. “We’ve challenged him before. If you go look at the back of his bubblegum card, that year where he had that .365 on-base (in 2021), that was the year. He understands the game he needs to play.
“We’re going to stay on top of him and everybody else and make sure they play within their game and do what we need them to do as an organization to get this thing done.”
Lopez is embracing that challenge.
“Every hitter will say you’re going to have those up years and those down years,” Lopez said. “Not counting my rookie year, I had a really good year in ‘21 and then I had some pretty bad years. Some role changes and whatnot, you kind of have to ride that roller coaster. The good thing about it is, you see a year like ‘21 and I know I can do it, it’s in there.
“Now, how do we tap into that, how do we bring that back out? That’s one of the things as Pedro was saying, we’re going to challenge you, meaning, know who I am, play the game that allows me to be successful. Don’t steer off of that. I think he’s going to challenge me to stay on that game. I wouldn’t want anything different.”
Lopez, a Naperville Central graduate, is also enjoying the opportunity to return to the area.
“It’s been awesome, the outpour of support from the city, it’s been truly special,” Lopez said. “I’ve always said that before my career is over I’d want to come back to Chicago and play. And to be able to have that happen kind of in the prime, I’m only 28 years old, I feel like I have a lot more baseball ahead of me.
“So to be able to do it now is a dream come true.”