Will they, or won’t they?
That’s a question many Non-Roster Invites will be asking themselves this week as teams begin trimming their rosters in preparation for the 2026 season.
Nicky Lopez is one of the NRIs invited to the Colorado Rockies spring training activities. A 31-year-old infielder from Naperville, Illinois, Lopez is veteran who has experience with a number of teams — including the 2024 Chicago White Sox.
Since making his MLB debut in 2019 with the Kansas City Royals, the lefty has earned 5.6 rWAR and a .245/.310/.621 slashline. Although Lopez can play second, third, and short, his defensive numbers have been streaky but slightly above average. That said, he was a second base Gold Glove finalist in 2024.
Now, Lopez is looking to make the Rockies team and help mentor young players.
Changing the team culture
Lopez signed with the Rockies in late November after speaking with Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta. At that time, DePodesta made clear that changing the Rockies culture was much on his mind.
“Their pitch to me was just ‘We need a veteran presence, and we’re trying to change a culture.’”
The job appealed to Lopez.
“That’s one thing I really do hang my hat on,” Lopez said.
“I’m a guy who likes to keep it light in the clubhouse and and a guy who can come in here and help change a culture, whether that’s keeping it light, picking up a teammate, always cheering for a teammate, and just being that player that a coach can count on at any position.”
He was looking for a team that would give him a chance.
“That’s all I really want, is just an opportunity to compete and try to win a spot on the team and help the team any way I can.”
A different kind of veteran experience
Actually, Lopez brings to a young Rockies team a very specialized form of experience in that he was part of the historically bad 2024 Chicago White Sox. It was a time Lopez looks back on as a learning experience.
“I learned so much about myself that year that,” he said.
“You try to find a positive in anything. And obviously everyone looks the record is like, ‘Man, that’s such a bad year.’ And in the in the midst of a bad year, selfishly, I got nominated for a Gold Glove, which means I was handling my business on the defensive end.”
But it was more than his on-field work. His clubhouse presence mattered, too.
“I think the young guys [in Chicago] can speak highly of me, just trying to get them to have fun at the clubhouse and have fun at the field, even though it was such a tough time.”
That said, Lopez’s career hasn’t been defined by his presence on losing teams, and he sees the highs and lows of his career as being valuable for a rebuilding club.
“One of the things I discussed with the front office and Schaeff is that I’ve been on 110, 115-win teams with the Atlanta Braves. I’ve been to the playoffs. I was in the Cubs clubhouse last year, and then I’ve also been on 120-loss team. So I know what both sides of it looks like, and I know what’s both sides of it feels like.”
In short, he’s been through a lot.
“There’s not many situations I haven’t really experienced in my in my career, which is something I think it can be very valuable to a young team like the Rockies, which is why in November, I signed here.”
Rockies third baseman Kyle Karros has appreciated Lopez’s willingness to share what he’s learned.
“We’ve been taking a lot of ground balls together. He’s obviously is one of the best defenders in the game. So picking his brains,” Karros said. “He was part of the White Sox when they had their tough year. So he kind of has seen what it’s like to be on a good team and what it’s like to be on a bad team. So he’s going to definitely offer some good insight on how to get us going in the right direction.”
Plus, for Lopez, signing with the Rockies represented a reset.
“Last year was a little bump in the road, both defensively and offensively in my career,” Lopez said. “But getting here kind of felt like a breath of fresh air, where I can just kind of do my thing and bounce around all over the diamond.”
Settling in at “Camp Schaeffer”
As a free agent, he had a number of teams to choose from and calls signing with the Rockies “kind of a no-brainer” in large part because of what he heard about manager Warren Schaeffer.
“A lot of these players rave about Schaeffer, so I was like, ‘You know what? This is a place I want to be, and it’s going to give me an opportunity to make a team and compete for one.’ And that’s all I all I can ask for right now in my career. So I’ve really enjoyed it so far.”
And he hasn’t been disappointed.
“I love him,” Lopez said of the Rockies new manager. “Great dude, great human being, first and foremost.”
Lopez is not alone in his praise of Schaeffer, echoing comments of other Rockies players.
“He’s a manager that a lot of guys would go to fight for, which is, I think, the ultimate compliment as a manager,” Lopez said.
Much of that stems from Schaeffer’s open communication.
“His door is always open, which is something, as a veteran, I really do appreciate,” Lopez said. “Being able to go in there and talk to him if I need to, ‘Hey, where am I at? Hey, what you know? What do you want to see more of me?’ Stuff like that is a good dialog with managers, [and] it’s something that you can’t really take for granted. So for him to be able to be open to that and be accessible to the players is huge.”
Being an adaptable infielder has been a staple of Lopez’s career, starting when he played baseball at Creighton University. He’s comfortable at second, third, and shortstop.
For a Rockies team looking to build around players with “optionality,” Lopez’s background seems like a good fit.
“My whole minor league career up until I got to the big leagues, from 2016 to 2019, I was just at shortstop,” Lopez said. “And then I made my debut at second base,” a position he started learning in Triple-A while in the Kansas City Royals system. But the organization continued to develop his versatility.
“When I got to the made the majors, they were, like, ‘Hey, can you play third?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ve done it, but I haven’t done it since, obviously, 2014.’ So you have that attitude where it’s like, ‘Yeah, I can do it,’ and just go and just sink your teeth into it.”
The key to his versatility however, is taking practice seriously — an approach embraced by Rockies Gold Glove center fielder Brenton Doyle.
“When you treat practice like it’s a game, then in the game, everything’s just going to flow,” Lopez said. And so I take practice very seriously when it comes to defense.“
This season, Ryan Ritter has left the familiar confines of the dirt for the vastness of the outfield. Is there any chance Lopez might follow a similar path?
He’s not averse to the idea.
“I have a couple big league games in left,“ he laughed.
“We have some dogs out there right now in the outfield. So, but if it takes being a bench roll where these guys need a day off because it’s a long 162, and then, yeah, I’ll go out there and play defense and play in the outfield.”
He added, “And Schaeff knows that, too. I’ve talked to him already about it, and so it’s one of those things, if your name’s called, just go in and compete as best as you can.”
Now it’s a matter of seeing if he will be afforded that opportunity.
This week on the internet
Which Colorado Rockie is most likely to search himself on the internet? atRockies asked the question:
(Cole, if you’ve Googled yourself and found this article, we think you’re awesome.)
Mark Kiszla had his yearly conversation with Rockies owner Dick Monfort.
Finally, Ezequiel Tovar has the world’s attention.
You’ll have to scroll to the bottom of this article to find the Rockies grade. (Before reading, take a wild guess at what it is.) Also, the Rockies are the only team that does not have a photo accompanying the assessment. Make of that what you will.
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