Jesús Alejo López (born May 5, 1996) is a Mexican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

in the

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

organization. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

Amateur career

López attended

Greenway High School Greenway High School is a public secondary school located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is a part of the Glendale Union High School District. It was named after John Campbell Greenway, a mining engineer and United States Senator. In the 1994–95 a ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. He was drafted by the

in the 27th round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

Professional career

Cincinnati Reds

López made his professional debut that year with the

Arizona League Reds The Arizona Complex League Reds are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. The team is composed ...

, where he slashed a torrid .419/.526/.484. In 2016, López played for the rookie-level

Billings Mustangs The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Deh ...

, posting a .273/.342/.327 slash line with one home run and 29 RBI. He returned to Billings for the 2017 season, and hit .300/.388/.455 with four home runs and 33 RBI. For the 2018 season, López played for the Single-A

Dayton Dragons The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark. In 2011, they broke the record for most ...

, slashing .321/.375/.406 in 65 games. In 2019, he played for the High-A

Daytona Tortugas The Daytona Tortugas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Minor League Baseball#Single-A, Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and play their home games at Jackie R ...

and batted .287/.353/.347 with two home runs and fifty RBI. López did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. López began 2021 with the Double-A

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

before being promoted to the Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, wi ...

after hitting .362 in Chattanooga. On June 28, 2021, López was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time after hitting .358/.436/.526 with two home runs and 14 RBI in Louisville. López made his Major League debut that day as a pinch hitter against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. López faced relief pitcher

Bailey Falter Bailey Falter (born April 24, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Philadelphia Phillies. Born in Chino Hills, California, Falter grew ...

, where he connected on the first pitch he saw for a single. López finished his rookie campaign with a .261/.261/.261 slash across 14 games. López appeared in 59 games for Cincinnati in 2022. In 145 at-bats, he batted .262/.314/.331 with 1 home run and 10 RBI. On February 8, 2023, López was designated for assignment by the Reds following the acquisition of

Will Benson William Buchanan Benson (born June 16, 1998) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Guardians. Benson was selected by the Clevelan ...

. On February 14, López cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Louisville. In 108 games for Triple–A Louisville, he batted .282/.390/.404 with 7 home runs, 38 RBI, and 15 stolen bases. On August 29, the Reds selected López's contract, adding him to the major league roster. On August 31, López was once again designated for assignment by the Reds, without appearing in a game for the team. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Louisville on September 2. On September 9, López was selected back to the major league roster as a

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

replacement for

Stuart Fairchild Stuart Alexander Fairchild (born March 17, 1996) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Wake Forest University. Fairchild was drafted by the Cincinnati ...

. He served as the starting second baseman that day after

Noelvi Marte Noelvi Marte (born October 16, 2001) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop and third baseman for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023. Career Seattle Mariners Marte signed with the Seattle M ...

suffered a pregame injury. In the contest against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, he went 1–for–2 with an RBI before being ejected for arguing a called third strike. The next day, López was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Louisville. On October 2, López elected free agency.

Atlanta Braves

On October 7, 2023, López signed a minor league contract with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. He played in 112 games for the Triple–A

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia ...

in 2024, hitting .307/.392/.397 with four home runs, 55 RBI, and 21 stolen bases. López was released by the Braves organization on September 23, 2024.

Athletics

On November 11, 2024, López signed a minor league contract with the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:López, Alejo 1996 births Living people American baseball players of Mexican descent Arizona League Reds players Baseball players from Mexico City Billings Mustangs players Chattanooga Lookouts players Cincinnati Reds players Dayton Dragons players Daytona Tortugas players Gwinnett Stripers players Las Vegas Aviators players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball players from Mexico 21st-century Mexican sportsmen Sultanes de Monterrey players