Earlier this offseason, Nicky Lopez's life changed dramatically twice at the same time.
The Atlanta Braves opted to trade him, along with four other players, to the White Sox in exchange for left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer. Lopez found out about the life-altering trade in a very intimate environment.
"We were at rehearsal dinner [for his wedding]," Lopez told Chuck Garfien on the White Sox Talk podcast. "We were in Palm Springs. We haven't eaten yet, we're taking pictures on a really nice back patio. I think someone was holding my phone, taking pictures of me and my family. It was one of my friends back home and he turned it and said 'You should probably answer this' and on the top of my phone was 'Alex Anthopoulos' the GM of the Braves.
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"I kinda knew tender day was coming. We had been talking with the Braves about whether we were gonna get tendered or whether we were gonna get traded. Those two directions are good. You never want to hear non-tender, obviously."
That's when Anthopoulus informed Lopez he would be going to his hometown team, the Chicago White Sox.
What did Lopez do with the news?
"At that time I'm like 'Well, I'm getting married tomorrow.' But also I'm pumped because I get to go play in front of my hometown friends. I remember just nonchalantly walking back to the dinner table and being like 'Yeah, I got traded, but here we go!'" Lopez said.
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And the next day, Lopez got married to his longtime girlfriend, Sydney. That's a rollercoaster 24 hours.
He wouldn't be heading to the White Sox alone, however. The White Sox also acquired four of Lopez's teammates from the Braves, including Mike Soroka, Jared Shuster, Riley Gowens and Braden Shewmake.
Lopez will join a newly minted middle infield including Paul DeJong at shortstop. The White Sox signed DeJong to a one-year deal on Nov. 21, cementing their next shortstop after declining Tim Anderson's club option for the 2024 season.
As aforementioned, Lopez is a Bolingbrook native. He attended Naperville Central High School before attending Creighton University to play college baseball. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the fifth round in the 2016 MLB draft.
Over his career, Lopez is hitting .249 with a .630 OPS. He's a defensive stud, saving eight defensive runs over his career at second base. He will succeed Elvis Andrus as the team's next second baseman.
For Lopez, it's a childhood dream come true.
"I always had a dream of playing in Chicago. Just coming back and playing. But just to have it be like this and go this way ... it was kind of a surreal moment," Lopez said.