Felipe Lopez Signs – Red Sox Supplemental Pick Goes Poof!

A guy’s gotta get his good feelings from wherever he can get them right? So excuse me if I’m enjoying my little taste of spite as the Tampa Bay Rays got a little payback today. I know, it’s petty, but I’m not about to grant any good will to Boston after they signed fan-favorite Carl Crawford to a rich contract. While I’m happy for Carl, well…let’s just say I’m firing up an Arturo Fuente Anejo #77 tonite and wallowing in it for an hour or so.

What the heck am I rambling about? Enrique Rojas reported on ESPNDesportes today that Felipe Lopez has signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays that includes an invitation to spring training. The deal is reportedly worth up to a million dollars if Lopez makes the roster and another million in incentives.

Another savvy move by the Rays. By signing Lopez they also blocked the Red Sox from receiving a supplemental first round pick in the draft.

At 31 Lopez is a far cry from his All-Star year in 2005 when he slugged 23 home runs and drove in 85 runs for the Cincinnati Reds. He was good for double digit stolen bases for a few years, but Lopez has been the epitome of a gypsy, changing addresses 12 times since 2006.

Accorrding to “The Bill James Handbook 2011” Lopez is at best an average middle infielder defensively. He’s like the rabbit in a greyhound race…the one they run out in front of the dogs to make them run faster. In this case, the “dogs” are Reid Brignac, Sean Rodriguez and Elliot Johnson.