When Reynaldo Lopez had arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder, it was part of just the beginning of the tragedies that would befall the Atlanta Braves during the 2025 season. Not only would Lopez go on to miss the entire season, but the entire Opening Day rotation would end up hurt and Atlanta would quickly fall out of playoff contention. However, Lopez's injury in particular raises some important questions as to how Atlanta should handle him going forward.
This is not the first time we have seen Lopez deal with injury issues. At the end of the season last year, Lopez missed time with shoulder inflammation and a lot of people attributed those shoulder troubles to his increased workload as a starter. As a result, we were already getting at least some hints that Lopez could shift back to the bullpen once he returns.
The problem is that Lopez has little interest in getting moved back to the bullpen and wants to stay in the rotation which could be a problem.
Despite his objections, Reynaldo Lopez needs to move to the bullpen for the good of the team
Obviously Lopez signed (and then reworked his deal) with the Braves with the understanding that he would be a starter. Not only would moving him to the bullpen against this will potentially cause some big problems in the Braves' clubhouse, but it could have trickle-down effects on other free agent signings as some players may think Atlanta would go against their word on similar promises down the road.
Here's the problem: Lopez's history of injuries including shoulder trouble and the fact that he was already moved to the bullpen once before may be a clue. When Lopez is healthy, of course he makes the Braves' rotation better. The problem is that Lopez has not demonstrated he can stay healthy in that role. Moving him to the bullpen would (hopefully) keep him on the field and not put the Braves in an even more precarious position with their rotation than they already are heading into the offseason.
The added benefit is that moving Lopez to the bullpen would help address a massive roster issue for the Braves. Lopez was an extremely effective reliever before Atlanta signed him and one would hope that he could transition back to that if needed. If that were to happen, the Braves would add a high leverage reliever without having to give up anything.
Ultimately, this decision is probably going to come down to conversations between the Braves and Lopez. Atlanta isn't the type of organization to just move a guy like that without sitting down with them and explaining the situation. Lopez also seems like a decent, reasonable guy and if the Braves make a good case, hopefully he would be on board. If not, things could get messy on multiple fronts in a hurry.