Jorge Lopez lands with new NL team after Mets saga

Jorge Lopez is back on his feet with a new team in the National League.

Will Sammon of The Athletic reported Wednesday that the righty reliever Lopez has landed a deal with the Chicago Cubs. It will be a minor-league contract for the 31-year-old Lopez, Sammon adds.

Lopez is a nine-year MLB veteran who was an All-Star in 2022 with the Minnesota Twins. But he achieved infamy last month with the Mets when he had an outburst during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. After being tagged for four runs in the eighth inning, Lopez got thrown out for arguing a subsequent check-swing call with the third-base umpire and then responded by firing his glove into the stands (see the video here). He then expressed no remorse for his actions in a profane postgame interview and was DFA’d the next day by the Mets, who cited multiple reasons for the move.

In 28 relief appearances for the Mets this season (including his meltdown against the Dodgers), Lopez posted a 3.76 ERA with 19 strikeouts and even picked up a pair of saves. While Lopez will first have to redeem himself in the minors, that is a skillset good enough for the Cubs, who are 32-35 but just one game back of a Wild Card spot, to take a gamble on.