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The Atlanta Braves received a double dose of bad news on Monday. After MLB announced its 80-game suspension for outfielder Jurickson Profar , the Braves retroactively placed starter Reynaldo López on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation. López, 31, gave up three earned runs, two walks and nine hits in his season-opening start Friday at San Diego.
He was one of the Braves’ top pitchers in 2024, his first season as a full-time starter since 2019. He had a 1.99 ERA with a 1.
11 WHIP and 9.8 K/9 in 135 2/3 innings across 26 games (25 starts). Advertisement Despite missing time for a forearm strain and shoulder inflammation after the All-Star break last year, López finished the season healthy.
He pitched six innings of two-hit ball with no walks and nine strikeouts on Sept. 28 against the Kansas City Royals, then two days later pitched a perfect relief inning with two strikeouts against the New York Mets. In four spring starts, López gave up three earned runs and 13 hits across 13 innings.
He also struck out five. In his final Grapefruit League outing, he threw six scoreless innings and threw 48 of 72 pitches for strikes. López’s velocity was down in each of his last two spring starts, and he gave up a first-pitch, first-inning leadoff homer to Fernando Tatis Jr.
on a 92.7 mph fastball Friday. But the Braves downplayed the reduced velocity during Grapefruit League play, attributing it to him working on things.
And manager Brian Snitker was encouraged when López’s fastball eventually touched his usual 97-98 mph on Friday. Bryce Elder, an MLB All-Star in 2023 who had a 4.97 ERA in five games this spring, was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to take López’s spot in the rotation.
(Photo: Denis Poroy / Imagn Images).
