Yankees sign 2024 Gold Glove finalist to begin emergency defensive makeover

The New York Yankees have begun the process of leveling up their currently disastrous defense. For now, it'll start in Scranton.

While the simplest immediate move still has yet to be enacted - Jazz Chisholm Jr., a natural second baseman, is currently still playing third - the Yankees began building up their middle infield depth below the surface on Thursday, signing Nicky Lopez moments after the veteran opted out of his minor-league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The pesky Lopez, a former top prospect, had the season of his life in 2021, accruing 4.4 bWAR and uncovering a bit of extra-base power - .744 OPS, 104 OPS+ - in his age-26 season. Since that year, though, he's floated from Kansas City to Atlanta to the White Sox to the Angels to the Cubs, carrying his slick glove along the way while losing his bat.

Lopez hasn't had an OPS above .700 in a full season since his breakout. Still, his skills in an area in which the Yankees surely lack are undeniable; he'll now join fellow glove-first veteran Andrew Velazquez with the RailRiders, but will almost definitely be floated as a big-league trial balloon soon.

Yankees sign Nicky Lopez, 2024 Gold Glove finalist with White Sox

Both Oswald Peraza's and DJ LeMahieu's MLB roster spots are similar degrees of tenuous; if we believe reports from 2024, though, LeMahieu will be advocated for by Aaron Judge if he ever nears the chopping block again.

That means Lopez's best shot to ascend to the Yankees is following Peraza's DFA for a tryout pre-trade deadline. The Yankees won't satisfy their fans if they don't shoot higher than Lopez with a third base upgrade on July 31, but just about anything is preferable to the uncomfortable combination they're currently running out daily.

Chisholm Jr. has been deferential thus far, but made a point this week to state that he's a natural second baseman and worked out all offseason long with the intention of going back to the position full time. The Yankees should make that move as soon as possible, then make it permanent. Lopez, as a roving middle infield backup, could be a nice second phase of the same plan once Chisholm Jr.'s inevitable move is enacted.