2024 SF Giants spring training castoff now has best batting average in MLB

Back in 2024, the SF Giants made a minor trade with the Toronto Blue Jays which didn’t seem all that noteworthy at the time. San Francisco acquired utility infielder Otto Lopez from Toronto in exchange for cash considerations. Lopez was with the Giants in spring training that year but they optioned him to Triple-A Sacramento and then designated him for assignment in early April.

The Marlins swooped in to pick him up off waivers and he’s been with them ever since. While he put up decent, but far from exceptional, numbers with Miami the last two seasons, as of this writing in 2026 he is leading all of MLB in batting average among qualified batters.

Lopez is hitting .344/.374/.503 with four home runs and 21 runs batted in. While batting average isn’t considered the most important offensive statistic the way it used to, it’s still pretty impressive and shows that a hitter is swinging a hot bat.

There’s a good chance he will come back down to earth soon considering over the last two seasons he slashed a collective .257/.308/.372 with 21 home runs and 116 runs batted in. 

He’s got speed with 40 stolen bases over his last three seasons including 2026 and he’s also considered an above-average fielder so he is a very nifty player to have.

Why did Giants get rid of Lopez back in 2024?

It makes one wonder why the Giants got rid of him, but if one can remember back to spring training camp battles in 2024 the Giants were trying to replace Brandon Crawford at shortstop and had Lopez, Marco Luciano, Tyler Fitzgerald, and Nick Ahmed in camp battling for roster spots.

Lopez wasn't all that impressive as he hit .217/.333/.391 in Arizona. The Giants ultimately went with Ahmed as the starter since he had the most experience and was the best defender at shortstop and Fitzgerald as the backup given his speed and the fact that he could play pretty much anywhere.

That looked like a smart decision at the time since Fitzgerald had a breakout year in 2024 hitting .280/.334/.497 with 15 home runs and 34 runs batted in. Of course, Fitzgerald had a steep drop off last season and was sent to the minors before the Giants DFA’d him and sent him, ironically, to the Blue Jays in a trade.

Maybe there’s some alternate universe where Lopez, once red-hot Joey Wiemer, and Dom Smith are all on the 2026 Giants and the team is at .500. Alas, the Giants are struggling and all they can do is watch as Lopez seemingly turns himself into a great hitter.

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