Saturday, March 7, 2009

Rodrigo Lopez, 2003 Topps Heritage #27

Where is Rodrigo Lopez these days, you ask? Well, I hope at least one of you really is asking. It can't just be me. After all, the righthander is the winningest Orioles pitcher of this decade, having notched 60 victories between 2002 and 2006. In addition to representing Mexico in the ongoing World Baseball Classic, he just signed a minor-league deal with the Phillies. It's a longshot attempt to get his career back on track after a couple years of arm problems. In 2007, he pitched reasonably well with the Rockies, going 5-4 with a 4.42 ERA. But he was shut down that summer with a bad elbow, and missed a year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Last August he signed with the Braves, but pitched only three games in the minors and had his 2009 option declined. With Philadelphia, he doesn't even have an invite to big league camp but is expected to make the AAA Lehigh Valley staff if he's in decent shape. It's a far leap from the IronPigs to the Phillies, but stranger things have happened.

2 comments:

  1. Vere nice card - he has an interesting signature. I'd like to see a bigger version...

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  2. That is one heck of a signature. I'll have to see if it appears on any other cards.

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