Jorge López

Note: This page is for pitcher Jorge Lopez who made his major league debut in 2015; for others with the same name click here.

Jorge Yabiel Lopez Ramos

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 165 lb.
• High School Caguas Military Academy
• Debut September 29, 2015

• Born February 10, 1993 in Cayey, P.R.

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Jorge Lopez was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2nd round of the 2011 amateur draft. He was signed by scouts Charlie Sullivan and Manolo Hernandez for $695,000 and made his pro debut that summer. Lopez played for the World Team in the 2014 Futures Game.

He was a winner in his major league debut for the Brewers on September 29, 2015. He started against the San Diego Padres, giving up 3 runs in 5 innings and was credited with the 4-3 win. When the Puerto Rican national team finished second in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, he was 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA for them. He got the win over Miguel Gonzalez and Mexico and started their semifinal win over the Dutch national team but did not get the decision.

On July 27, 2018, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals along with Brett Phillips in return for 3B Mike Moustakas. Facing the Minnesota Twins on September 8th, he began the game by pitching 8 perfect innings, but he lost his bid to add his name to the record books when he walked Max Kepler to lead off the 9th, and then allowed a single to Robbie Grossman before being relieved by Wily Peralta, having thrown 110 pitches. He received credit for the 4-1 win. He played for Kansas City until the middle of the 2020 season, when he was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles. He went 4-9, 6.33 in 39 games in his only full season with the Royals in 2019; he pitched 123 2/3 innings that year, his highest total in any one season.

After joining the Orioles for the remainder of the 2020 season, he was a member of their starting rotation in 2021 and had a very tough year, going 3-14, 6.07 in 33 games. The O's were in the middle of a thorough reconstruction at that time, and lost 110 games as they were badly short on talent. In 2022, Jorge was moved to the bullpen and showed some tremendous improvement, going 4-6, 1.68 with 19 saves in 44 games as the Orioles' closer over the first four months. He was named to represent the team at the 2022 All-Star Game, a shortage of viable candidates having helped, but his numbers were still outstanding. At 29, he did not figure in the team's longer-term plans and they took advantage of his increased value to trade him to the Minnesota Twins at the trading deadline on August 7th. The deal netted the Orioles four young players, the most prominent of which - and the only one with major league experience - being Yennier Cano, who turned out to be a very valuable addition. For his part, López found the going rougher with the Twins, going 0-1, 4.37 with 4 saves in 23 outings. He pitched three shutout innings in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, striking out four.

Jorge started the 2023 season with the Twins, and was 4-2, 5.09 after 37 games, with 3 saves, when he was traded to the Miami Marlins for another veteran reliever in Dylan Floro. He was hit hard in his 12 games with Miami, however, to the tune of a 9.26 ERA in spite of recording a pair of wins, and on September 2nd was picked up off waivers by one of his former teams, the Orioles, who had by then become competitive as they ended up posting the best record in the American League that year. He was 0-0, 5.25 in another 12 games. Overall, he went 4-2, 5.13 in 52 games that season, pitching 47 1/3 innings. All three teams for which he pitched played in the postseason, but he did not see any such action himself. Following the season, he became a free agent and signed with the New York Mets for 2024. In 28 games, he was 1-2, 3.76 when he was involved in an incident that ended his tenure with the team. On May 29th, he was ejected from a 10-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers by third base umpire Ramon De Jesus for disputing a checked swing call and expressed his frustration by throwing his glove high in the air and into the stands as he was leaving. Manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game that this was unacceptable behavior, and that same day, he was designated for assignment. For his part, López was unrepentant, saying he did not regret anything, and then calling the Mets "the worst team in the whole [censured] MLB." It was another incident in a season in which the Mets were floundering badly. He experienced some sober second thought the next day, apologizing to teammates, coaches, fans and the front office and explaining: "I had no intention of disparaging the New York Mets organization." However, the team had no intention of going back on its decision to move on.

Notable Achievements

• 2015 Pitcher of the Year Southern League Biloxi Shuckers
• AL All-Star (2022)

Further Reading

• Anthony DiComo: "Mets to DFA López after glove-tossing incident, harsh comments. Team holds meeting after dropping 11 games under .500", mlb.com, May 29, 2024. [1]
• Anthony DiComo: "Jorge López apologizes to Mets, clarifies postgame comments", mlb.com, May 30, 2024. [2]

Related Sites

• Jorge Lopez on mlb.com
• BR minors page