Atlanta Braves newest reliever, Reynaldo Lopez, could become their newest starter
The Atlanta Braves search the free agent market and talk to potential trade partners in their search for starting pitching. With no guarantee of a solution in either market, the Braves asked their newest signing to prepare to work as a starter in 2024.
Shortly after the Atlanta Braves announced the singing of righty Reynaldo Lopez, Justin Toscano reported that the club asked him to work out as if he were preparing to pitch out of the rotation,
Interesting note on late-inning reliever Reynaldo Lopez: He’ll prepare as a starting pitcher this winter and will be stretched out in spring training to give the Braves another option for the rotation. They think he can potentially help in both roles.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) November 20, 2023
While Lopez pitched effectively as a reliever over the last two seasons, he came up as a starter. Lopez hasn’t had a serious arm injury, and every team needs starters, so why was Lopez moved to the pen?
Reynaldo Lopez the starter
Lopez signed with the Nationals as an amateur international free agent in 2012 and made his Major League debut in July 2016. In December, Washington traded Lopez, Lucas Giolito, and Dane Dunning to the White Sox for Adam Eaton.
Over the next three seasons, Lopez was a top 100 prospect in baseball. Pitching for the Sox, he threw 420 1/3 innings in 73 starts, striking out 350 and walking 154 while pitching to a 4.65 ERA, 95 ERA+, 1.385 WHIP.
He was never a strike-out pitcher (7.5 K/9), always walked too many batters (2.3 K/BB), and gave up 67 homers in 73 games. The rabbit-ball season of 2019 was particularly bad for Lopez as he led MLB in earned runs allowed.
In 2019, Atlanta Braves fans thought Julio Teheran gave up too many homers. He finished tied for 36th in MLB with 1.1 HR/9. Lopez finished with 1.7 HR/9, putting him in a tied for third highest in MLB.
Moving to the Pen
I don’t hold the 2020 fiasco against anyone, but Lopez had a worse-than-usual season, and on March 22, 2021, the White Sox optioned him to the alternate training site because he had a vision problem that required surgery.
When the White Sox announced the surgery, they said he would serve as rotation depth when he returned, but CBS Sports opined that the press release was, at best, diplomatic.
…but his struggles in recent seasons mean the team would likely prefer to not have to look his way.
Lopez returned on July 17. He did make nine spot-starts, throwing 37+ innings, striking out 33, and walking 17 while pitching to a 4.10 ERA and 1.125 WHIP. His last appearance as a traditional starter for the Sox came on September 28.
However, he was a much better pitcher out of the pen, where he threw 20 1/3 innings in 20 relief appearances, striking out 22 (30.1%) and walking 3 (4.1%) while pitching to a 2.21 ERA, 0.639 WHIP.
Lopez the Reliever
As a reliever during 2022, Lopez appeared in 61 games, threw 65.1 innings, struck out 63, and walked 11 while pitching to a 2.76 ERA, 0.949 WHIP, and posting a career-high 5.73 K/BB rate.
He appeared in 68 games for three teams in 2023, throwing 66 innings and pitching to a 3.27 ERA, 1.273 WHIP, striking out 83 and walking 34 – two intentional. Lopez’s career screams late-inning reliever, so why announce they’re stretching him out?
The first thing to note is that while Lopez is willing to do whatever is required, he wants to be a starter again. he said as much at his news conference. Most pitchers with a background in starting don't look for a bullpen job if there's a starting job available. A starter's career lasts longer, and longevity leads to higher income, but being a starter just feels different.
So, the Atlanta Braves will give him a chance to claim a spot in the rotation, and if he can limit walks, there's no question he has the tools to do it. Signing Lopez is a "twofer" if he becomes a reliable starter, his contract is a bargain. If he ends up back in the pen, he has the stuff to close games, and the Braves can use that as well.
Atlanta Braves Plan B or C
Raise your hand if you like bullpen games because they’re so much fun! Yea, me neither. The Braves don’t like it any more than we do, and they want enough depth to end those debacles. It’s truth-in-advertising time.
- Elder is more likely to pitch as he did in the second half (5.11 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and a homer every seven innings) than his first half (2.97 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and a homer every 10.6 innings.)
- Dylan Dodd’s stuff requires better command than he’s shown,
- Smith-Shawver has the stuff; he’s the guy if he learns to make adjustments, but he isn’t throwing 180 innings this year.
- Waldrep walks too many batters.
- Vines is Elder without a fastball; he’s a smart pitcher, but he’s not ready.
Last year, five starters made 107 starts; then it became pick-a-name-to-start -and-hope-he-has-a-good-day with Wright and Dodd making seven, Soroka and Winans six, Chirinos and Smith-Shawver making five, Allard made three, vines made two, and Chavez, McHugh, and Lee made one. Plans like that might not doom a season, but they don't work well in postseason play.
That’s a Wrap
There’s no question that The Atlanta Braves would prefer to have five starters they depend on to make 30+ starts, but they don’t have them. Maybe Lopez steps us to fill one of those vacancies. If not, he joins Huascar Ynoa as what we used to call a swingman.
GM Alex Anthopoulos is building two ways to try to guarantee our pitching doesn’t vanish in September. He’s already added arms to the bullpen and traded Wright for another former top-100 prospect to work there and perhaps make some starts.
He's actively trying to acquire a front-line starting pitcher to make the rotation as deep as the lineup, but there aren’t many of those around, and the Braves aren’t the only ones bidding. If Lopez has the kind of stuff that makes batters walk back to the dugout shaking their head. His heater is every bit as good as Strider's, if the Braves can help him locate his pitches well, batters have a real problem on their hands.
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