Felipe Lopez Designated for Assignment

Jonathan Bohall had me put a poll on the site asking fans who should go once Longoria was brought off the DL; now we know who the Rays chose. Felipe Lopez and his .222 batting average was designated today.

Lopez has always had an attitude problem which has dogged him from team to team, making him a spare parts vagabond for teams desperate for infield help. The Rays made the right decision, dumping the ne’er do well Lopez while keeping players more attuned with the Rays team-first persona.

Tampa was the eighth team Lopez has played for in his career, which started when he was drafted 8th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1998 rookie draft. Lopez was rated the top defensive high school short stop that year by Baseball America after setting several records for Lake Brantley High School out of Altamonte Springs Florida.

Lopez had been wearing out his welcome in Tampa for a while, loligagging on a number of plays, but the wheels were already falling off early in the season when Lopez threw his bat at Chicago White Sox pitcher Chris Sale after hitting a home run in a loss in Chicago on April 9th.

Lopez was released unconditionally by the St Louis Cardinals last year after repeated tardiness, his second time with the Cardinals organization.