Tim Lopes leading the way for Chihuahuas as he fights back toward Major League return

Tim Lopes has been around baseball long enough to know the way to San Diego is to keep it out of his mind.

The El Paso Chihuahuas second baseman is in his 12th season as a pro, he's played parts of three seasons in the Majors and he's having the type of year — a .291 average with eight home runs and 25 RBI — that indicate he could be back in the big leagues soon enough.

More: PCL standings

That doesn't mean he's staring at his phone or peeking at what is going on with the Padres. That's not the way back to the top level.

"I try not to think about that too much, I try to think of what's going on in the present," said Lopes, whose Chihuahuas are hosting Reno this weekend at Southwest University Park. "Control what I can control.

"Try to help the team win. Obviously the goal is to get to the big leagues, but I'm just trying to play hard every day and give my team a chance to win.

"Play hard, let the chips fall where they may."

Right now the chips are falling in Lopes' direction. The Padres organization is his fourth in four years, as he was with Seattle in 2020, Milwaukee in 2021, the Colorado Rockies organization last year and now San Diego.

More: El Paso Chihuahuas schedule

His decision to sign with San Diego came down to the Padres showing the most, and the quickest, interest this offseason.

"The Padres were one of the first teams to call, in fact they were the first team to call," Lopes said. "I ended up making my decision pretty quickly after that.

"I've had a good first month here. I've slowed down a little bit, but I try to make adjustments every day."

In fact the 28-year-old Lopes came close to making the Padres out of spring training before being one of the last players signed to El Paso. Mike Daly, the Padres' assistant director of player development, said Lopes is near the top of San Diego's list of potential call-ups.

"He's in every conversation," Daly said. "That's a credit to him that he's put himself in the conversation with how he's played in spring training and how he's played every day out here.

"Tim's been really, really good all year. He came into camp and played well, he opened up the eyes of a number of people in the organization, including our Major League staff. It was very close in terms of him making the big league team.

"He's come down here to El Paso and he's been excellent, a leader, offensively and defensively, in the clubhouse, on the field. We couldn't be happier with the way Tim has played this year."

Daly is filling in this week as manager for Phillip Wellman, who is taking a week vacation that is now mandated by Minor League Baseball for all Triple-A managers during the season. Daly said Lopes is a complete player.

"We've seen what other organizations have seen: Someone who is very smart, somebody who is competitive, someone who can play on both sides of the ball," Daly said. "He's a very good defender, he's very good with his at-bats. He can use the entire field and he's a heady player. He has good game awareness in the field."

If Lopes gets back to the Majors, it will be his fourth stint after playing in Seattle in 2019 and '20 and Milwaukee in 2021. That gives him some experience that is welcome in the El Paso clubhouse.

"I learned a lot," Lopes said of his time in the big leagues. "It's a grind, there's more pressure, guys are better, lights are a little brighter. But at the end of the day it's the same game, you have to try to treat it as such."

Last season was a fun one with Lopes, who was in Albuquerque in the Colorado organization and got to play against his brother Christian, who was with Las Vegas. Christian is currently a free agent.

"I played against him a few times," Lopes said. "We've played against each other before, we've played together before. We played in high school together so we're familiar.

"It's unusual. Obviously I'm trying to win and I'm rooting for success for my brother. It's a little bit of a bittersweet feeling when you're playing against your blood."

As for this year, Lopes has settled in well with his new team, organization and city.

"I like it here, a lot of good Mexican food," Lopes said. "My wife and I have enjoyed that. El Paso has been good to us. I love this team. We have a great group of guys here. We'll all pulling on the same side of the rope, we're focused on winning, that's what we're trying to do."

As for what he's trying to do, "You can always get better in all aspects of your game," Lopes said. "Putting up good (at-bats) is something I focus on, trying to drive the baseball around the field, play good defense. That's what I'm focused on."

He knows that focusing on each at-bat and not on what lies ahead is the best way back to where he now wants to be: San Diego and the Major Leagues.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at 915-546-6359; bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Tim Lopes leading the way for Chihuahuas