The Milwaukee Brewers attempted to improve their outfield depth on Tuesday when they claimed outfielder Tim Lopes of Los Angeles, CA, off waivers on Tuesday according to the Associated Press. Lopes has spent the last two seasons with the Seattle Mariners.
In 2020, Lopes batted .238 with two home runs and 15 runs batted in during 46 games. In 143 at bats, and 151 plate appearances, Lopes scored 16 runs, and had 34 hits, 12 doubles, five stolen bases, six walks, an on base percentage of .278, a slugging percentage of .364, 52 total bases, and was twice hit by a pitch.
Lopes saw a drop in his offensive statistics when it came to his batting average in 2020, compared to 2019. However, Lopes saw an improvement when it came to his slugging percentage, mostly because he had one extra home run and five more doubles in 2020 compared to 2019. Lopes had 12 doubles and two home runs for 14 extra base hits in 2020, compared to seven doubles and one home run for eight extra base hits in his 2019 rookie season. Lopes’ slugging percentage in 2020 was four percentage points higher than his .360 slugging percentage in 2019. This occurred despite the fact Lopes had a much higher batting average of .270 in 2019 compared to only .238 in 2020.
In 2019, Lopes played in 41 games with the Mariners. He also scored 11 runs, and had 30 hits, 12 runs batted in, six stolen bases, 15 walks, a .359 on base percentage, 40 total bases, one sacrifice fly, and one time hit by a pitch.
In 2020, Lopes was an outfielder in 29 of his 46 games. He was also a designated hitter for 17 other contests. ESPN states Lopes is a utility man, and has infield experience at second and third base, however he only played one game at third base in 2020, and three games at second base in 2019.
There is a possibility that Lopes could see his fair share of time in right field for Milwaukee in 2020. The Brewers have proven outfielders Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain in left field and center field respectively, but struggled in finding someone to take control in right field last season. Like Lopes, Avisail Garcia batted .238, while Ben Gamel, and Tyrone Taylor each batted .237. Garcia and Taylor are returning to Milwaukee, but Gamel is a free agent.
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