Christian Lopes

Christian M. Lopes (born October 1, 1992) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics.

Christian Lopes
Lopes with the Nashville Sounds in 2019
Infielder
Born: (1992-10-01) October 1, 1992
Huntington Beach, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 20, 2022, for the Oakland Athletics
Last MLB appearance
April 26, 2022, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average.000
Home runs0
Runs batted in0
Teams

Amateur career

In 2006, Lopes was named the Under-13 National Baseball Player of the Year by Baseball America.[1] He played for the United States national baseball team in the 2010 World Junior Baseball Championship. Lopes attended Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, California, for two years. As a sophomore, Lopes batted .453 with 15 home runs and 33 runs batted in (RBIs). He was named the Santa Clarita Valley Player of the Year and the Foothill League's most valuable player. His family moved and he transferred to Edison High School in Huntington Beach, California.[2][3] He committed to attend the University of Southern California.[4]

Career

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays selected Lopes in the seventh round of the 2011 MLB draft.[5] He split the 2012 season between the Bluefield Blue Jays and the Vancouver Canadians, hitting a combined .278/.339/.462/.801 with four home runs and 33 RBIs. He played for the Lansing Lugnuts in 2013, hitting .245/.308/.336/.644 with five home runs and 66 RBIs. He spent the 2014 season with the Dunedin Blue Jays, hitting .243/.329/.350/.679 with 3 home runs and 33 RBI. He split the 2015 season between Dunedin and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, hitting a combined .260/.339/.325/.664 with two home runs and 38 RBIs. In 2016, he again split the season between Dunedin and New Hampshire, hitting .283/.353/.402/.755 with six home runs and 56 RBIs.[6] In 2017, he split the season between the GCL Blue Jays, Dunedin, and the Buffalo Bisons of the Class AAA International League,[7] hitting a combined .269/.357/.421/.778 with seven home runs and 46 RBIs.

Texas Rangers

After the 2017 season, Lopes signed a minor league contract with the Rangers.[8] He played for the Round Rock Express of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in 2018, hitting .261/.365/.408/.773 with 12 home runs and 52 RBIs.[4] He split the 2019 season between the Frisco RoughRiders and the Nashville Sounds,[9] hitting a combined .265/.356/.422/.778 with 13 home runs and 65 RBIs. He became a free agent following the 2019 season.[10]

Miami Marlins

On December 18, 2019, Lopes signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins.[11] Lopes did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] He was released by the team on September 1, 2020.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On October 14, 2020, Lopes signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Lopes spent the 2021 season with the Triple-A Reno Aces. Lopes played in 66 games, hitting .271 with nine home runs and 34 RBIs. He became a free agent following the 2021 season.

Oakland Athletics

On March 11, 2022, Lopes signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics.[13] He began the season with the Las Vegas Aviators. On April 18, Lopes was added to the Athletics roster as a COVID-19 related substitute.[14] He made his MLB debut on April 20. Lopes went hitless in nine at-bats with a walk for Oakland before he was removed from the 40-man roster and returned to Triple-A on April 27.[15] He was released by the Athletics organization on August 2.

On July 19, 2023, Lopes announced on his Instagram that he was retired from professional baseball and had become a real estate agent.[16]

Personal life

His brother, Tim, is also a professional baseball player.[2][4] Married and expecting first child with his wife, Ashley.

References
  1. "Inside SCV Magazine". Insidescv.com. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  2. Ben Fawkes (September 28, 2010). "The big moves of Christian Lopes – MLB Draft Blog". ESPN. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  3. "Connecting People Through News". Retrieved August 19, 2018 – via PressReader.
  4. Zach Smith. "Christian Lopes flourishing in first season with Express". Hill Country News. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  5. Brad LeClair (August 19, 2011). "2011 MLB Draft Rewind: Top 12 Signed Toronto Blue Jays Draft Prospects". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  6. Alex Hall (May 5, 2016). "Fishers' Lopes has his eye on something bigger". New Hampshire Union Leader. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  7. Moritz, Amy (June 16, 2017). "Christian Lopes proves good things can come from the No. 9 spot". The Buffalo News. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  8. Richer, Clayton (December 4, 2017). "Blue Jays: Luis Santos re-signs while Christian Lopes takes services elsewhere". Jays Journal.
  9. "Trio of star starters part of Riders initial roster". milb.com. March 27, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  10. Matt Eddy (November 7, 2019). "Minor League Free Agents 2019". Baseball America. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  11. Christina De Nicola (December 18, 2019). "Kemp, Marlins agree on Minor League deal". MLB.com. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  12. "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  13. "A's announce 23 non-roster invitees". MLB.com. March 11, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  14. Oakland Athletics, PR (April 18, 2022). "A's announce roster moves". MLB.com. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  15. "Athletics' Christian Lopes: Returns to minors". cbssports.com. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  16. "Instagram".
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